The Black & White's Camouflage; Unity is Everything

 

The Zebra also possesses camouflage characteristics. Difficult to believe, eh? It does seem hard to do so, but that is to human eyes. Different animals have different eyesight depending on the species and the individual. Let's see what trick the Zebra uses to survive in the wild.

The zebra is a member of the horse family. What makes it different from its mostly domestic brothers is that it owns vertical or slightly slanted stripes on its body. They have a wide range in east and southern Africa. They usually live in treeless grasslands and the savanna woodlands and are absent from deserts, rainforests, and wetlands. 

All zebras' stripes look almost the same to human eyes, but a closer look tells us that not all the patterns are the same : they are quite different from one another.

The animals that feed on zebra include leopards, cheetahs and spotted hyenas, but its most dangerous enemy is the African lion. Today, we will be talking about zebras and the hunting party of lionesses.

The Savannah region of Africa is a grassland with acacia and baobab trees spread throughout the region. During most parts of the year, this grass remains yellowish-orange. Let stop for a moment here, and think, how can the zebra camouflage itself in order to protect itself from predators? The color of its stripes stand out in the yellow grass. Can't the lionesses see it and detect its presence?

The little secret is that...lionesses (and lions) are color blind! Color blindness does not mean that they cannot see any color, it simply means that they cannot detect some colors.

 When the zebras sense the presence of a lioness, two zebras stand with one another (as shown in the above picture). Their vertical stripes seem to blend in with the vertical stands of grass. The hunting party, being color blind, cannot differentiate between the the zebras and the grass.

Now, a question remains unanswered. If lionesses cannot see zebras, what makes them (the zebras)  their prey?

For this, God has blessed animals with more than one sense organ. The party cannot see their prey, but they can smell it. They can also hear any detectable movement the zebras make.

Though the animal remains still, it sometimes happens that it loosens a stone or pebble or snaps a twig by its hooves, which gives it away. Thus, the circle of life continues.

The hunting party senses this mistake and attacks with full force, leaving the herbivore vulnerable. Thus, for a zebra's living, it is vital that it cooperates with its herd and together, they can stay hidden. Hence the saying, united we stand, divided we fall

Image taken from : https://za.pinterest.com/pin/31877109845423605/