You can check one long-standing hypothesis for why zebra have stripes off the list. A new study has found that zebra stripes are not for camouflage as previous scientists had presumed. The study concludes by the time a typical zebra predator, a lion or hyena, gets close enough to distinguish the animal’s stripes, it has almost certainly smelled or heard the animal. 

Professor of Wildlife Biology at the University of California at Davis Tim Caro is one of the lead researchers on the study. He joins Insight to explain how his team tested camouflage hypothesis and what the true purpose of the stripes may be.     

Karie Wyble  / Courtesy