The
functional explanation to camouflage is that it is a behavior that evolved as
an advantage to the organism. The advantage being that utilizing camouflage
will enable the animal to be blend into the background and be less attractive
to predators. When I think about camouflage the first image that pops into my
head is the Chameleon. You know that color changing lizard that we all
associate with the country of Madagascar.
The
last animal we would probably associate with trait of camouflage is the zebra.
How can the distinctive patterns of the zebra make it less attractive to a
predator? If anything the unique black and white stripes would stand out in the
tall green and brown grasses of the African savannah.
Well
in the case of the zebra camouflage works a different way than just simply
allowing the animal to disappear into the environment. The type of camouflage that
acts in the favor of the zebra is called pattern camouflage. This means that
the line pattern of the zebra blends in with the pattern of the savannah
grasses where zebras are usually found. The difference in color between the zebra
and the grasses is not a factor. Why might you wonder? Well it just so happens that
the lion, which is the main predator of the zebra is color blind! Of course
that is not a mere coincidence, it’s the functional explanation.
The
trick to the pattern camouflage of the zebra is that they always gather in
large groups. This particular arrangement confuses the colorblind lion to an
even greater extent according to the Animal Planet. When the hungry lion comes
upon a large pack of zebra’s grazing all he can actually visualize is a big
mass or lines that don’t seem to have a beginning or end. It would be very
difficult for a lion to attack when he can’t see where the head or the tail of
a zebra is positioned. The only way the lion can succeed in catching the zebra
is if the herd breaks up and the zebra is isolated.
Who
knew a zebra had such a trick up its sleeve. Maybe next time we watch a zebra
and lion confrontation we will feel sorry for the lion that faces such confusion
due to the pattern camouflage of the zebra.
I personally didn’t know lions were colorblind and that zebras would use its stripes as camouflage to escape from the lions. I think most animals’ posses a camouflage mechanism that protects them from their predators if not they would be an easy prey. How mentioned in the video, environment is a factor to determine how the stripes camouflage in the zebra will be.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting topic on the zebras and their stripes who would have known that the stripes on the zebra were actually there for a reason. Like stated I thought it would even call more attention to them since they are black and white but instead actually help to camouflage them with the land. I am actually curious to know what determines the patterns of the stripes on the zebras now. If it was the location and the weather as stated in the video. I guess I will have to do some reading or browse some youtube videos to find this out, but besides that great topic
ReplyDeleteHi Adriana, I had never thought about why zebras have their stripes but now that you wrote about it, it makes perfect sense. It's an elaborate explanation by nature and evolution to protect themselves from predators. As the video says, they haven't found out how the zebras got their stripes but to me it makes sense that they probably evolved as time progressed. Very informative.
ReplyDeleteA recent study found that the most likely explanation is that the stripes somehow help to protect against biting flies rather than protect against predators like lions...
ReplyDeletehttp://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2014/04/01/zebras-stripes-evolution-animals-science/