Cambridge University scientists say that, contrary to popular opinion, the distinctive pattern doesn’t seem to protect the animals from hungry lions and leopards.In fact, the stripes are likely to make them easier, rather than harder, to catch.To test the theory, the researchers asked 60 volunteers to play a computer game in which they had to ‘catch’ patches as they moved across the monitor.
Some patches were plain grey, others were striped. And sometimes several patches were flashed up once, in an attempt to mimic the process the brain undergoes when looking at a herd of zebras.
When just one patch was shown at a time, those with horizontal stripes were particularly easy to capture.Researcher Anna Hughes said: ‘Surprisingly, we found no benefit of stripes when multiple targets were presented at once, despite the prediction that stripes should be particularly effective in a group scenario.’
With many other animals – including some snakes and fish – also boasting stripes, Miss Hughes said there are a ‘multitude of possibilities’ why the pattern is so common in nature.
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