Animal Facts - Zebras
On this page, we will look at the Zebras.
If you have any interesting or funny facts about animals or would like to find out more information about a particular animal, please fill up the Feedback form and we will be happy to add it to our list of animal facts.
Do zebras have black skin with white stripes or white skin with black stripes?
There are three species of zebras; the plains zebra has stripes all over its body, while the Grevy’s and mountain zebras have stripes up top but completely white bellies. Does this mean that zebras are white with black stripes? But, that is just their hair. If you were to shave a zebra bare from head to hoof, you would find that their skin is black.
First, the vertical striping helps the zebra hide in grass. While seeming absurd at first glance considering that grass is neither white nor black, it is supposed to be effective against the zebra's main predator, the lion, which is color blind. Theoretically, a zebra standing still in tall grass may not be noticed at all by a lion.
Additionally, since zebras are herd animals, the stripes may help to confuse predators - a number of zebras standing or moving close together may appear as one large animal, making it more difficult for the lion to pick out any single zebra to attack. A herd of zebras scattering to avoid a predator will also look like a confused mass of vertical stripes traveling in multiple directions making it difficult for the predator to track an individual visually as it separates from its herdmates.
This video shows how a zebra escaped the jaws of a lioness.
| Check out our most popular games! | ||
|---|---|---|
 Fraction Concoction |
 Fact Family Game |
 Number Bond Garden |
 Online Addition Subtraction Game |
 Penguin Solitaire |
 Sawayama Solitaire |
 Ark Solitaire |
 Eldritch Invasion |
 Shenzhen Solitaire |
Check out more Solitaire games here.
We welcome your feedback, comments and questions about this site or page. Please submit your feedback or enquiries via our Feedback page.