The mystery of why zebras have black and white stripes may have been solved as scientists find the pattern 'dazzles' blood-sucking flies. They found that horse flies gathered around domestic horses and zebras at a similar rate - but landed on zebras a quarter as often. There are several possible explanations as to why zebras have black and white stripes, but a definitive answer remains to be found. The study took place on a UK horse farm in Somerset that keeps both domestic horses and zebras. In contrast domestic horses chiefly twitch to flick away flies and only occasionally swish their tails.

Source: Daily Mail February 20, 2019 19:02 UTC