The first time I was introduced to a Zebra was by my
artisan uncle. He showed me a wooden sculpture of a Zebra,
beautifully painted with black and white stripes. I handled
and examined the wood carving as he described it. Later,
as I was herding my father's cattle during one of the
school holidays, I saw the real Zebra and recognized it
immediately. Yes, the black and white stripes are the trade
mark of a Zebra. You will recognize it anytime, anywhere
and at any age above three.
There are three species of a Zebra namely, Plains Zebra,
Grevy's Zebra and the Mountain Zebra. All the three species
occur in Africa. The Plains Zebra are the most plentiful
and can be found virtually anywhere on the Kenyan plains
and other parts of East Africa while the Grevy's Zebra are
mostly found in Northern Kenya. In some parts of Kenya,
these two species coexist. The Mountain Zebra have their
habitat in Southern and Southwestern Africa. Zebras are
herbivorous and can grow up to 900 lb (410kg) or more.
Being social animal, they move in herds of different sizes.
While the black and white stripe pattern makes the Zebra
spectacular, the amazing facts about the stripes go beyond
the beauty. For years scientists have argued about why the
zebra has distinctive black and white stripes. The theories
rotate around Zebra Identity and Camouflage. This article
discusses these amazing theories:
- Description: Whether the Zebra's stripes are white on a
black background, as some people say, or vice versa is
academic. I leave it at that.
- Identity: At first glance Zebras in a herd might all look
alike, but their stripe patterns are as distinctive as
fingerprints are in humans. There are, indeed, scientific
methods that can identify individual Zebras by comparing
patterns, stripe widths and colour. Further proof that
Zebra stripes are identity marks is provided by their
behavior. For example, on rare occasions when unstriped
Zebras are born, they tend to be ignored by the rest of the
herd, confirming at least, that Zebra stripes are a
passport to Zebra society. Also, when a foal is born, the
mother keeps all other Zebras away from it for two to three
days, until it learns to recognize her by sight, voice and
smell.
- Camouflage: The Zebra stripes are thought to act as
camouflage in several ways:
- The vertical stripes of a Zebra will resemble tall grass,
save for the colour-grass is neither black nor white. A
colour blind predator, like a lion, may, therefore, not
notice a Zebra standing still in tall grass. - The Zebra
stripe pattern forms a discolouration that breaks up the
body outline. A herd of Zebras close together may thus
appear like one large animal. The advantage of all this to
the Zebra is best appreciated when you consider that the
main predator for the Zebra is the lion, which is colour
blind. Now, in attack, the lion must first identify the
target, usually a young, old or a weakened Zebra. The
Lion's eyes must then lock on the target Zebra. Without
this process, the lion which also heavily relies on stealth
and ambush, will theoretically find it difficult to launch
an effective attack before it is noticed.
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About the author
Dr. Aggrey Marami has lived in close proximity with wild
animals for years. Firstly as a small boy herding his
father's cattle and goats and later as a regular visitor
to the family ranch near the Kenyan Tsavo National Park.
For more amazing facts about wild animals and culture
visit:-
http://www.ammarami.com
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