The surprising reason zebras have stripes - Cella Wright

Dig into the scientific theories of why zebras have stripes, and why this unique patterning sets them apart from their equine relatives.
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Zebras belong to the same equine family as horses and donkeys. After their lineage entered Africa, they evolved into three zebra species, lived in social herds, grazed on grasses, and evaded fierce predators. One mystery that has perplexed prominent scientists for decades is the matter of their coats: why are they striped? Cella Wright digs into the common theories about the unique patterning.
Lesson by Cella Wright, directed by Sharon Colman.
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Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Orlellys Torre, Corheu, Thomas Mee, Maryann H McCrory, Blas Borde, John Hellmann, Poompak Meephian, Chuck Wofford, Adam Pagan, Wes Winn, Conder Shou, ntiger, Noname, Hansan Hu, David D, Mac Hyney, Keith Ellison, robin valero walters, Lynne Truesdale, Gatsby Dkdc, Matthew Neal, Denis Chon, Julian Oberhofer, Monte Carroll, Eddy, Jay M, Constantino Victor Delgado, Andrea Galvagni, Andrew Tweddle, Laurel-Ann Rice, Fernando A. Endo, Helen Lee, pam morgan, sarim haq, Gerardo Castro, Michel-Ange Hortegat, Enes Kirimi, Amaury BISIAUX, ND, Samyogita Hardikar, Vanessa Graulich, Vandana Gunwani, Abdulmohsin Almadi, AJ Lyon, Geoffrey Bultitude, Mi Mi, Thomas Rothert, Brian Elieson, Oge O and Weronika Falkowska.

[@teamraider8663]

I worked in a lab in Taiwan that also had this as the main theory. The idea is that because most insects have compound eyes, the spacing of the patterns serves as a way to mess with the sense of positioning of the zebra relative to the fly, resulting in a lack of decreasing speed in preparation for landing or entirely missing as a whole. The research I did used honey bees (easier to raise and control since we just need sugar water to attract them) but it should be the same for flies in theory. What's also interesting is that there was a certain stripe width needed before it was effective, like just having the stripes isn't enough the pattern needed to have a width less than a certain threshold in order to mess with the honey bee flight behaviors.

[@piusdoe8984]

That is interesting! Wonder if those scientists who did the stripes vs flat color experiment, thought to alter the stripe width

[@debbiej.2168]

Thank you.

[@zeybarur]

That's so interesting! I wonder if the width threshold correlates to the insect's "viewed resolution", so to speak, since compound eyes' vision is more "pixelated" than ours. Maybe the stripe width has to be less than a certain number of pixels, or maybe it's the stripe density that matters more? If the density scales against width? Anyway thank you for this comment!

[@laxaree]

Wow! That is super interesting to know!

[@AncientWildTV]

@@zeybarur Compound eyes are made up of multiple ommatidia, each acting as a separate visual unit. This can result in a "pixelated" vision, where the resolution is limited compared to that of vertebrate eyes. The resolution of compound eyes is often measured by the number of ommatidia per unit area. For an insect to detect stripes or other visual patterns, the width of the stripes might need to be larger than the size of the ommatidia to be perceived distinctly. If the stripe width is smaller than the resolution limit of the compound eye, the stripes might blur together or become indistinguishable.

[@chheinrich8486]

4:23 doz you want to give us seizures

[@thomaslai1381]

Now we want to know if such striping can work for humans? Would wearing zebra stripe-patterned clothing help reduce bug bites? And if so, against which bugs would such striping work?

[@ericsmith6394]

There's research on colors vs mosquitoes that shows some effect, but I think that's only if other meals are nearby. Mosquitoes are too slow to crash. The other flying parasites in my area won't bite through clothes. I don't think I want to avoid them badly enough to wear zebra body paint.

[@micahbush5397]

Between the tropical diseases and pests, the Sahara Desert limiting the transmission of technology, and the difficulty of domesticating Sub-Saharan species, one starts to understand how Sub-Saharan Africa was overtaken by Europe in the global political arena.

[@snowyowl10]

Oh I wrote an essay on this in my undergrad. The title was something like "Let's dress up cows like zebras: a novel solution to biting flies"

[@chris_ssj2]

Now that's a witty title!!

[@ichokedonadoritoonce7670]

Love the title!!!

[@buziek101]

"Wild Asses". I'm almost 40, but this may me chuckle like a teenager :D

[@frogglen6350]

When you live in an environment full of lions, painted dogs, hyenas, angry elephants and hippos, nile crocodiles, leopards, and cape Buffalo plus deadly insects, it makes sense that Zebras evolved to be the way they are.

[@-_Nuke_-]

😂 exactly

[@joshuabautch8936]

AND THIS is my justification for Hippos being pure physocapths Any pacifism is suicide when you share a range with them

[@piusdoe8984]

And what is "the way they are" and why only them

[@themoviescriptwriter2513]

I agree, but when you consider the role of diseases in human history deaths being more than any wars or mostly other causes, it makes sense. While the bigger threats mostly seem obvious danger, diseases have a higher determination of the species survivability.

[@Mikee512]

You can tell that it's a zebra because of the way that it is. How neat is that?!

[@likeavirshin]

I love the silly face on this animation! They are hilarious

[@sharoncolman]

Thank you! 😊

[@tec-jones5445]

Perhaps another piece of evidence comes from the now tragically extinct zebra subspecies: the Quagga. This population lived outside of the range of biting flies in South Africa, where it's too cool/dry for the insects. The quagga is well known for having far fewer stripes than other zebras, being more uniformly brown past the neck, as seen in other temperate equids. If a subspecies population of zebras can seemingly lose their stripes in the absence of flies, this might provide further evidence for the insect repellent hypothesis. Though the animal's extinction makes this harder to verify with much certainty.

[@dangerfly]

So that's the funny looking horse mount in Diablo 4...

[@NisarKhan-jm1uh]

Also Grevys and mountain zebras are found outside of the tsetse flies range and they have less stripping and more narrow stripping than the plains zebra so this theory of zebra stripes act like a protection from biting flies seems the most likely to be true.

[@henderson-i5p]

Zebras sure have a big history! 🦓

[@alienn_o.o]

damm thats so cool

[@jaspermcjasper3672]

2:46 - A zebra is a horse painted in dazzle camouflage. And it works---so far, no zebra has ever been sunk by a U-boat.

[@zackleonard8559]

Zebras are more closely related to Donkeys

[@MEGAMIGA]

😆😆😆

[@heck-r]

Somewhere I heard that some study speculated that it's also a group camouflage, where the point is not for zebras not to be noticed (which would hard with their big herd), but rather for individual zebras not to stand out from the heard. The reason they thought of this is that it was hard to track individual zebra, so they marked one or two with some bright colored ring or something, but to their dismay, the lions seemed to hunt the visually distinguishable zebras very quickly, maybe because there was a more obvious target they could gang up on, increasing the chance of capture. I don't think this ever became more than a hypothesis, and I don't know why such extreme striping would be better than just being consistently grey, but it could be that the high contrast stripes and the extreme color somehow works against how predators normally distinguish prey.

[@normalchannel2185]

Being consistently grey would provide depth information, but stripes basically overload the brain with information, making depth perception harder.

[@duckymomo7935]

That theory hasn’t hold up

[@songyu1356]

Nah, if they are consistently grey and you mark some individuals with bright coloured marking it will likely has the same effect. This theory doesn't hold water. This video had also stated that given the high rate of successful hunts of predators on zebras, it is very likely not the case.

[@salemsaberhagan]

​@@songyu1356the point of the stripes isn't to avoid being hunted altogether. That would be better achieved by overall better camouflage. It's about a group adaptation that confers distributed benefits. The stripes cause enough confusion that predators pick their prey at random rather than single out specific vulnerable individuals because they cannot spot them easily, for example, children. Considering how horses can't survive long with broken legs but deer often can, such an ability for the young & the injured to be relatively hidden would ensure their survival. If it means more children survive in more stripey zebra populations than less stripey ones, the stripey ones will increase in number & then that trait will start to spread by interbreeding.

[@victorAgain00]

​@songyu1356 The stripes make it harder to distinguish between individual zebras. Predators like to home in one a single animal they deem week or old, but with all these irregular stripes crossing paths, it might be difficult to keep track of one.

[@adamm4562]

I was told by a safari guide in Kenya that Zebras striping is for defensive herd camouflage. Lions and other land predators have to be discerning with their exertion of energy and try to get easy prey. So the striping helps defend the young and the weak amongst the herd by blending them into the rest of the herd, making it harder for the predators to keep track of and bear down on a single zebra. Kind of a “can’t see the tree for the forest” phenomenon. That’s always stuck with me because it’s so odd and fascinating

[@phoenixflamegames1]

Oh they are definitely not wrong about that. It is for multiple different reasons. That is just one of the many

[@kaidanalenko5222]

It is debunked if you watch the whole video.

[@irritatin2]

Nothing was debunked. They purposefully use words like 'probably' 'likely/unlikely' 'perhaps' 'seems/doesn't seem like', and clearly state these are all hypothses

[@normalchannel2185]

@@irritatin2 And the hypothesis that was seen unlikely was not the same as OP suggested. OP suggested that the stripes helped HIDE the young and weak, not that they made it harder to see an INDIVIDUAL zebra

[@richardxr-huang]

OP's suggestion is probably just a side effect 😅. Cause if that is so important, why doesn't other horses have it huh? The big difference in their environment is still the disease 🪰.

[@D2attemp]

I never would have thought of that as the answer

[@-_Nuke_-]

Me neither 😂😂😂

[@krista2216]

The fact that the scientists noticed that the flies were sufficiently confused that they weren't decelerating enough! 🤣

[@beatjunkybg]

​​@@krista2216yeah, "crash landings" cracked me up 😂

[@DanielLCarrier]

So it is to confuse predators. Very small predators.

[@evanrosman9226]

The stripes on zebras are a fascinating subject of study.

[@MarkoLEARNS-gv5uo]

no

[@michaelmanyaboy3393]

@@MarkoLEARNS-gv5uobro really thought he was quirky and unique commenting “no” 😭

[@duckymomo7935]

That’s because it’s a rare pattern not found in many parts of nature

[@ThrillSeeker3524]

Don't forget the extinct subspecies, the Quagga. What a shame it was hunted to extinction...

[@jaspermcjasper3672]

@ThrillSeeker3524 - W'i'k'i'p'e'd'i'a says they're being bred back into existence by selective breeding from zebra populations.

[@arnoldmbuthia2687]

Who hunted them to extinction?

[@adrianblake8876]

​@@arnoldmbuthia2687 The same one that hunted many other species into extinction: humans.

[@ThrillSeeker3524]

@@arnoldmbuthia2687 European settlers prizing quaggas for hunting trophies

[@jaspermcjasper3672]

@@arnoldmbuthia2687 Ranchers who wanted the quagga to be extinct because it competed with domestic horses in grazing. I guess you would call those ranchers Boers as they were in South Africa.

[@arkoudanthrope]

The animation is spectacular!

[@sharoncolman]

Thank you! 😊

[@awesomehpt8938]

Looks like you can’t judge a zedbra by its stripes

[@pierrecurie]

The natural follow up question is why the flies didn't evolve to not be so easily confused.

[@ericsmith6394]

I wondered this too. I suspect this is just beyond the level of visual processing you can put in fly-size brains, but this answer isn't very satisfying. Jumping spiders and dragonflies have very impressive vision. It's more likely that the flies are stuck in an evolutionary local maximum. Maybe they need 10 changes to beat zebra stripes, but a fly with only 1-2 of those by itself is worse. This would make it very unlikely for any fly to get all the required changes to be the new "best fly" (whatever that is).

That is the Cons of all compound eyes. Unless they change their eyes completely, that problems will still exist.

[@ericsmith6394]

Maybe having better vision means a bigger head? The video says the flies crash into the zebras. Bigger heads would hurt more by being a bigger lever on the neck and more likely to take the blow. Maybe the flies can't evolve a solution because it would require bigger eyes which make crashing worse. If so, any flies taking the first steps toward that solution die out and the population never overcomes the zebra stripes.

[@wallbrick1]

protection from biting flies, thermoregulation and protection from predators

[@Marina-rz4oj]

⚠️ Im not sure how to explain itor if its true, but i think some parts of the video may be harmful for people who have propensity for having seizures

[@StarLightShadows]

So in other words, their patterns give seizures to biting flies. Humerous.

[@varunapathak2096]

"kicks strong enough to kick a lion." I loved zebras and thought they were really cute, but now I'll be forever afraid to go near one of them.

[@mochaest1994]

this animation was adorable 😊

[@sharoncolman]

Thanks so much! 😊

[@vespertoldme]

YOU MADE ITTTT ! IT'S TOO CUTE ​@@sharoncolman

[@sharoncolman]

@@vespertoldme I was the animator/director. I appreciate your kind words!

[@mochaest1994]

@@sharoncolman subscribed!

[@davea6314]

It's evolution baby! -Say it like you're Austin Powers.

[@kimjanek646]

Since I saw some documentary about Bees and how they navigate using patterns, it's easy to imagine why Zebras have stripes 🙂

[@raymondyan8770]

Does this need an epilepsy warning? I kinda think so

[@chitarah]

I used to call them prison horses because of their stripes! Lol!

[@jamielancaster01]

Bigger question why aren’t zebras very intelligent?

[@SadNathan]

Cause they like vegetables

[@save7597]

They are too zesty to

[@SecureBirch410]

​@@save7597 Zesty ahh horse

[@mrbyorself]

Their behavior is suited to survival in the wild rather than cooperation with humans. This difference in behavior can sometimes be misinterpreted as lower intelligence when, in reality, it's just a different type of intelligence. Not to mention horses have been selectively bred for traits we consider "intelligent" for thousands of years.

[@rhysioeren3203]

How many zebras do you know?

[@himanshusoni528]

Given the ability of insects to evolve in given environmental conditions, it’s surprising how the biting flies did not overcome this problem

[@ollieanntan4478]

Maybe because zebras are only one of the species that bugs feast on. Why evolve for such a small percentage of possible prey?

[@phoenixflamegames1]

So basically, it doesn’t confuse predators but it does confuse biting flies which is helpful when a lot of biting flies can kill them. So indirectly, it’s still meant as confusion.

[@rollintweeds234]

Brilliant research and surprising findings. I've been laboring under the 'harder to cut an individual from the pack' delusion for years. Thank you, TED-Ed!

[@Disneydreamgirl33]

So i guess its good sense to wear Zebra stripes when you go to Africa, we could use this info on lots of things that need protection!

[@SALESPRODUCTIONS]

They have stripes because that adaptation allowed for more of them ( that had stripes ) to survive and procreate over long periods of time. The end.

[@lestranged]

If Zebras could be trained, Africans would have done it thousands of years earlier. They are just too ornery.

[@ultroytheroy34]

Zebra's are bullies once they are old enough😅 I've always wondered how I got out aged by animal born at the same time as me.I just believe in distorting colour theory when it comes to the stripes

[@shahzebansari6585]

So that's why I do not get mosquito bites when I wear a checkbox shirt.

[@OutsideGamerGirl]

Mystery solved! Until 20 years later when another group of scientists/researchers challenge this idea and come up with another answer.

[@Kozm0h]

This is why I love zebraaaas!!

[@oldcowbb]

makes sense, flies use optical flow to control speed and direction, repeating pattern messes up with the cross correlation across time, makes them lose control over their speed

[@BasicallyBaconSandvichIV]

Can you also make a video on why Zebra's are so difficult to domesticate? I do kinda already know why. But it's never a bad thing to have Ted go into a topic.

[@-_Nuke_-]

My guess is that they adapted through the generations to live in a very, VERY hostile environment.

[@abhishekpattanayak1443]

there's a CGP Grey video about the same, if you'd like see it

[@martinote510]

there's also discussion of that in Guns, Germs & Steel. Should have mentioned some of that here. The Germans didn't listen to the Swahili who warned them zebras don't play. So one kid died and a couple people lost a hand trying to domesticate them.

[@l.n.3372]

​@-_Nuke_- I think it's more about the mentality and biology of the zebra. They are not the same as horses despite having some similarities. Horses can be domesticated but zebras cannot because of these differences

[@SecureBirch410]

​@@l.n.3372they also have a different social dynamic I believe? Where zebras group up, but don't really care about each other

[@reverendayglow]

Apparently the answer is, We don't know.

[@BCAEDUCATION-c4x]

Thanks for 19 subscribed complete 😊

[@hoseinayan942]

summary: Because they are fans of Juventus

[@derrickkekeli8262]

🤣🤣🤣

[@hdhillon53]

1:40, where's quagga?

[@iftekhar77]

that’s a good point

[@rautamiekka]

Uh, all of them can easily, without trying, kick & bite hard enough to cause fatal damage, so zebras ain't special in that regard, so why specify ?

[@auro1986]

evading flies isn't the only purpose why zebras have stripes

[@Thecatdrums3]

The way this dances around slavery is impressively sad

[@supermin99]

now can we get a video about pandas?

[@Ahmed-z2w6i]

this video needed an epilepsy warning lol

[@nurshoddilmurodov7436]

This is very boring story 😴

[@malisha7339]

The animation is so adorable and hilarious, love it! 🥹🥰

[@sharoncolman]

Thank you! 😊

[@cristianflorestamayo9079]

this videos are always so educative, not only for teaching... i watch this when I eat something at any time. the longer the video, the more I lear and longer I take eating anything . hahaha

[@omaryjuma_]

animation is so fascinating, and that country shown on that map is my country Tanzania!😊🇹🇿

[@sharoncolman]

Thank you! 😊

[@BaoHoangNguyenviet]

bro ran out of ideas

[@maxleroux]

Looks like the Wild Kratts were wrong again. I'm still annoyed that they perpetuated a common (and disproven) myth in their episode about chameleons. 🦓

[@De_Séchelles]

Rothschild 😮

[@Paraf0x]

“Wild asses” became my favourite scientific term

[@YouTubeUzername]

Clickbait, these are all hypotheses and the reason zebras have stripes is still unclear.

[@klundberg2585]

But one works. Chill.

[@YouTubeUzername]

@@klundberg2585 All hypotheses, use your brain.

[@oursavior6953]

Go get em tiger

[@HolyGuy997]

Why zebra don't have laser gun Their legs

[@j.a.velarde5901]

#TEDEd -- YOUR CUTEST VIDEO EVER!! --

[@sharoncolman]

@@j.a.velarde5901 thank you 😊

[@Ketowski]

Good gathering of information, except that zebras don’t have calves. They have foals like other members of the horse family. Oops! Good to know about the striping and flies.

[@azurestairway]

So basically if Bronsart were shifty enough to paint the horse with zebra stripes, his work would actually be accomplished.🤪

[@pisces2569]

Man I love the LSD zebras

[@sharoncolman]

@@pisces2569 😂

[@containedhurricane]

Zebras got the stripes from mutations and cross-breeding. Those stripes protect them from mosquitos for thousands of years

[@francis_n]

Right, I know what I'm wearing next time I go to Asia or Africa. Mosquitos will avoid me 😌

[@pimhipwell3862]

Zebras' stripes didn't play a part in their being more difficult to domesticate. It was as infered; their backs were unequiped for haulling and their musculature wasn't as powerfull as horses', hence the attempts to breed them with asses.

[@desesa7]

Lions got to be careful to kill zebras, lions are extreme, supreme predators, that can kill zebras.

[@dale4853]

So, in other words, you have wasted my time.

[@MarieneMafrsin-no4yb]

Young Cynthia Hall Christopher Thomas Nancy

[@hobbyhobbyhobbyhobby]

not me immediately hunting down a zebra species classification quiz right after seeing 1:49 lol

[@hobbyhobbyhobbyhobby]

Grevy just thinking hes the dang man differentiating another zebra type lol

[@AmyHickman-q8k]

Davis Brenda Williams Thomas Young Shirley

[@bottasheimfe5750]

another reason why Domesticating zebras is so difficult is Zebras don't have the same Family structures Horses do. with Wild Horses all you gotta do is tame the Horse that leads its herd in Migrations and the other horses will be much easier to deal with.

[@Cutiepie-mf4ht]

If anyone would agree with me on this, tell me what do you think if we should see a video of Victor von doom on trial on this channel because I’m curious to see if we could see him on trial Give this 👍👍👍

[@fivebn]

Thank you for telling us why zebras are stripped

[@zizoluis]

This just shows how blind evolution is, zebra evolved this way because it worked and that is it

[@Noruego]

was I the only one laughing at Wild Asses? 😂

[@seedspittinspacecowboy]

So your telling me it's more effective if I dress up like tiger king every time I plan to go out into the woods?

[@ArmandoFrost-o4d]

Hernandez Anna Gonzalez Shirley Anderson Kimberly

[@Necrobin]

I've been to Namibia and seen Zebras stand in dry/leafless undergrowth where they were really hard to spot when they didn't move. At least the camoflage function worked for me!

[@miaesesagerald3333]

Lee Eric Lopez Brian Thompson David

[@BridgettWattson]

Как ты определяешь уровни поддержки и сопротивления?

[@zyxw2000]

Another informative video from TED-Ed.

[@brokensymphony]

Ahhh the eternal and on going dreams of European colonial rule.

[@JackieOwl94]

Fly boots to protect equines from flies are often striped for a similar reason.

[@MemphiStig]

It's basically a big "we don't need you" warning to humans. Any horse but the striped ones, check.

[@caterinagargiulo]

This is interesting to learn about

[@m.darwish8135]

Does anyone know what software is used to create these 2d animations?

[@bkrxgamerx8765]

1:47 anything we dont know about : ITS JUST EVOLVE BROO

[@Kaputt512]

Are there anti-fly T-shirts sold anywhere?

[@hongchan1202]

Why don't we just ask the zebras?!??

[@trewaldo]

So, who owns the zebra? 😂

[@mrmosty5167]

I always thought it made it harder for lions to single out a target

[@egonkirchof]

Because they think they look cool ?

[@thermalnuclearwar]

I really thought it was for camouflage

[@Blueelectricaltape]

They want my PERPETUAL MOTOR

[@janakiramnallamothu3020]

@5:23 Funnny 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@TheMillennialPlantDad]

Urgh I absolutely love this channel . So much information!!

[@Ultrapunk1]

Why didn't he name Rothschild?