Posted on 11/21/2021 11:15:41 AM PST by BenLurkin
The stunning black-and-white coloration of the zebra's hide stands out in stark contrast with the dry, brown-and-green, treeless grasslands and savannah woodlands of their home territories of East and southern Africa, according to the African Wildlife Foundation.
These stripes are unique to each individual. There are three zebra species living today — the plains zebra (Equus quagga), the mountain zebra (E. zebra) and the Grevy's zebra (E. grevyi) — and each of those species has a different striping pattern, too. For some, the darker portions of their hide are black, whereas others have browner coloring, and some have stripes only on their bodies but not on their legs.
Although zebras have black skin, different developmental processes determine their fur color, just like a light-skinned person can have dark hair, Caro said. In fact, zebras actually have more light-colored hair than dark — their bellies are usually light — so it may seem that zebras are white with black stripes.
But that's not the case. Here's why: Every piece of hair — both light and dark — grows from a follicle filled with melanocyte cells, according to a 2005 review in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. These cells produce a pigment that determines the color of hair and skin. This pigment is known as melanin; a lot of melanin leads to darker colors, like dark brown or black, while less melanin leads to lighter colors, such as hazel or blond, Live Science previously reported. Zebras' black fur is chock-full of melanin, but melanin is absent from white fur, in essence, because the follicles that make up the stripes of white hair have "turned off" melanocytes, meaning they don't churn out pigment.
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
I was JUST headed for the same pic.
Then you…
I wasn’t joking:) Your comment made me look at the rug. Our poor old trail dog is slowing up and having other problems.
I have had half a dozen sheep rugs, one deer and one elk rug. A couple of rabbit coasters. All tanned by myself.
I think I have your creation in my World of Warships collection.
Or, a skunk in a blender.
But paint a red dot on one and it will be caught with ease.
Much better known than his non-showbiz brother,Karl. Who wasted his life messing with the minds of "silly" people.
So the zebra goes up to his dad and says, "Hey dad, am I black with white stripes or white with black stripes?" His dad says, "I don't know. You'll have to go ask the leader of the herd."
So the zebra goes up to the leader of the herd and says, "Hey leader, am I black with white stipes or white with black stipes?" The leader of the herd says, "I don't know. You'll have to go ask God. He lives on top of that mountain over there."
So the zebra starts heading up the mountain and runs into an old man coming down. The zebra asks the old man, "Are you God?" To which the old man replies, "No, but is there something I can help you with?" The zebra says, "I'm trying to figure out if I'm black with white stripes or white with black stripes." The old man says, "That is a perfect question for God. Let me know what he says."
So the zebra goes to the top of mountain and asks God, "Am I black with white stripes or white with black stripes?" God answers, "You are what you are."
So now the zebra is all sorts of confused, and he's thinking about this answer as he goes down the mountain, when he runs into the old man again, coming up. The old man says, "So? Are you black with white stripes or white with black stripes?"
The zebra replies, "I don't know. All he said is, 'You are what you are.'" The old man says, "That must mean you're white with black stripes. If you were black with white stripes he would have said 'You is what you is.'"
Don’t blame me, I just copy and paste............LOL!
Just shave one! (The Zebra, not the Refs!)
Whatever color their skin is beneath will tell you.
My bet is that they are black and white.
I have a Beagle, and when he was shaved for some minor surgery, you could clearly see his skin was different colors underneath, so their ‘markings’ do go skin deep.
I would assume it’s that way with all mammals?
Nope. Sunburned skunk! ;)
Well, I must take this opportunity, as I see it has not yet been taken, to share the store Freeper Kenny Bunk once shared with me.
A Zebra dies and goes to heaven.
The LORD looks him in the eye, welcomes him, and asks him if he has any questions.
The Zebra says:
“Well, Lord, I always wanted t’know. S’about who I is, down deep. Is I white wif’ black stripes? Or - is I black wif’ white stripes?”
The LORD looks at the Zebra for a moment, pats him on the shoulder, and says:
“Ahh, welcome to Heaven.”
(There are different punchlines here. The way Kenny Bunk used to tell it, he’d just have the LORD just sort of look down at the ground a moment, not wanting to say anything but “welcome to Heaven.”)
Polar bears also have black skin. Pink at birth but soon turns black. And their fur is clear/translucent, it just appears white.
Wonder why they were never domesticated ?
Another theory is that the stripes make it more difficult for biting flies to land and bite.
https://www.ucdavis.edu/curiosity/news/how-zebra-stripes-disrupt-flies-flight-patterns
Nope. It’s because the striping pattern makes it almost impossible for flies to land on them. That discovery is selling zebra striped horse blankets and masks like crazy too.
Because they don’t want to be...
(Apparently they make donkeys seem like amicable equines)
Personal foul. 15 yards
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.