Researchers: Zebra fur protects animals from insect bites

British researchers have found out that Zebras have stripes to protect themselves from insect bites. Is striped the upcoming summer fashion too?

By Udo Schmidt, ARD Studio London

Why is a crooked banana, why the Leopard dots has stripes, why the Zebra? Many questions, too few answers. A question is answered now, maybe. Because Martin How of the University of Bristol has found out that the stripes of the Zebras to discourage insects. While there is a long list of explanations as to why Zebras stripes, starting with Darwin: To camouflage, temperature regulation, communication between the animals. But no explanation of the foot on investigations.

The scientist-clad horses for their study,

Clad horses

The test Assembly in a barn in North Somerset: The Team of Dr. How, created a kind of Wolf in sheep's clothing, a horse, a black-and-white striped blanket was thrown over. For the horse brakes, the painful sting and transmit diseases, had become of the horse is a Zebra. With the result that the aggressive insects could not land and your luck somewhere else tried.

The scientist explained: "We have found that the number of attacks by horse-brake dramatic back, if the horse is wearing a striped ceiling." Real Zebras would only crisp, very rare, compared with horses. Why this is so, it is the scholars break in Bristol.

"Possibly be a brake on the horse through the strip of dazzled or confused and not be able to land. You have very bad eyes, you can see the strip only, if you are very, very close," he says How.

Confusing for insects: Zebras are through your fur protected from bites.

Striped clothing instead of bug spray

What is for Zebras well, that might also help the people. If mosquitoes and brakes of the black-and-confused-and-white stripes, the coming summer should be black-and-white, at least in terms of fashion. Striped T-Shirts are not always the latest craze, but evolutionarily, they could be highly successful. The researchers How confirmed. During the investigations his Team had been stung often, if the scientist had worn a T-Shirt and if the Shirt was striped.

Fake Zebras

in Principle, ought to exchange researchers and Zoobetreiber even better - as much as possible worldwide - at least as far as the Zebra research. Because in the Zoo of Cairo in Egypt have been discovered in the past year, two donkeys, whose black-and-white stripes were painted on. The suspicion: The Zoo lacked the crowd-pleaser Zebra, so it was painted two. After denials and a hesitant admission, finally, an animal was dismissed nurses. A typical Zebra victims. The justification would have been so easy. You have stripes, you will not get stung. This mercy should also be a donkey.

Zebra stripes against horse brakes
Udo Schmidt, ARD London
22.02.2019 11:08 PM

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