Zebra Closeup

2. Another hypothesis is that 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.
3. It has been suggested that the stripes serve as visual cues and identification. Although each striping pattern is unique to each individual, it is not known whether zebras can recognize one another by their stripes.
4. One theory suggested by an innovative experiment posits that the disruptive colouration is an effective means of confusing the visual system of the blood-sucking tsetse fly.
5. Alternative theories include that the stripes coincide with fat patterning beneath the skin, serving as a thermo-regulatory mechanism for the zebra, or that wounds sustained disrupt the striping pattern to clearly indicate the fitness of the animal to potential mates.