{"id":17990,"date":"2026-02-01T17:14:51","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T16:14:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wildhood.org\/?p=17990"},"modified":"2026-02-01T17:14:51","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T16:14:51","slug":"why-do-zebras-have-stripes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wildhood.org\/en\/2026\/02\/01\/why-do-zebras-have-stripes\/","title":{"rendered":"Why do zebras have stripes?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zebra stripes have puzzled scientists ever since the question was debated between Alfred Russel Wallace and Charles Darwin, some 120 years ago. Today, however, we know the answer!<\/p>\n

In a study published by UC Davis University<\/a> in 2014, evidence was presented explaining why the zebra has its unique appearance. Zebra stripes protect against biting flies. By studying zebras from different herds and regions, researchers found that the stripes form denser patterns in areas where the pressure from blood-sucking flies is higher. Something about the zebra\u2019s striped coat causes biting flies to avoid their striped prey in favour of others.<\/p>\n

But why aren\u2019t all hoofed animals in these regions striped? Well, a zebra\u2019s hair is shorter than the mouthparts of the flies, so it doesn\u2019t provide the same protection against these biting pests – something that potentially makes zebras more sensitive to annoyance from biting flies.<\/p>\n

The discovery of this striped phenomenon has not only solved a century-old question but also opened the door for further research, as the discussion can now shift from why zebras have stripes to why the stripes deter biting flies.<\/p>\n

Today, Wildhood Foundation protect 1,5 million hectares of wilderness across three countries in southern Africa, habitat that is the home to zebras as well as thousands of other species of mammals, insects and trees. Thank you for your support in safeguarding these incredible species.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

January ends with World Zebra Day, so let\u2019s deep-dive into an interesting zebra fact!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":17984,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-okategoriserade"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy do zebras have stripes? - Wildhood<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wildhood.org\/en\/2026\/02\/01\/why-do-zebras-have-stripes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why do zebras have stripes? - Wildhood\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"January ends with World Zebra Day, so let\u2019s deep-dive into an interesting zebra fact!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.wildhood.org\/en\/2026\/02\/01\/why-do-zebras-have-stripes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Wildhood\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-01T16:14:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.wildhood.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Oa43-Frank-af-Petersens.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1278\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Vilma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Vilma\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.wildhood.org\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/01\\\/why-do-zebras-have-stripes\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.wildhood.org\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/01\\\/why-do-zebras-have-stripes\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Vilma\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.wildhood.org\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e545b861ac9ddc872f2a72c58988bf23\"},\"headline\":\"Why do zebras have stripes?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-01T16:14:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.wildhood.org\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/01\\\/why-do-zebras-have-stripes\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":234,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.wildhood.org\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/01\\\/why-do-zebras-have-stripes\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.wildhood.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Oa43-Frank-af-Petersens.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Okategoriserade\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.wildhood.org\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/01\\\/why-do-zebras-have-stripes\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.wildhood.org\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/01\\\/why-do-zebras-have-stripes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Why do zebras have stripes? 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