Why Do Some Animals Have Stripes?

Examples

1. A zebra herd running together looks like a blur of black-and-white lines, making it hard for a lion to focus on one zebra.
2. Stripes on tigers help them hide in the forest while they wait for prey.
3. A striped fish uses its colors to signal to other fish when it's ready to mate.

More examples

See also

• Who is Signal Mimicry?
• How come large herbivores have such thin legs?
• Are humans the only species who drink milk as adults?
• Are humans more adapted to "light mode" or "dark mode"?
• How do migratory birds navigate across continents?

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