How did the zebra and the squirrel get their stripes? One of them is similar to what Kipling wrote, namely, that the stripes allow them to merge into the woodland background, so as to escape predators. In effect then, stripes evolved in African equids largely to protect them from the blood sucker insects which abound and thrive in the African tropics. Stripes fool these bugs, perhaps by the disruption of the polarisation of light falling on the striped pattern on the hair and skin. Is this why zebras or striped squirrels are not found in the U.S., Northern Europe or Russia?

Source: The Hindu December 03, 2016 12:24 UTC