Zoologists from the University of Nairobi (Kenya) believe that zebra stripes help protect against heat.
According to the authors of the study, the alternating black and white stripes function as a complex cooling system, facilitating heat exchange and helping the animals evaporate sweat.
zoologists measured the temperature of the black and white stripes of two wild plains zebras at 15-minute intervals on a sunny day.
Throughout the day, the black stripes heated up to 44–56 degrees Celsius, while the white stripes maintained a temperature of 36–42 degrees Celsius. The authors of the study believe that the difference in temperatures causes convective air movement, which helps sweat droplets evaporate more quickly.
Observations of zebras also showed that they can raise their black hairs, which further aids in moisture evaporation. All of this, along with the peculiarities of the sweating process, allows zebras to effectively cool their skin.
This is not the first attempt to explain the purpose of zebra's striped camouflage. According to another study, the stripes disorient and repel insects.
