Spots and Stripes: Animal Patterns and Their Purpose

The animal kingdom is a wild, wacky place where animals have to be clever to survive. One of the most amazing techniques for survival is animal camouflage. Animal patterns can mimic plants, ground cover, or even other animals in order to hide or hunt.

In this article, we look at some examples of the animal world with striped or spotted camouflage and discuss if these animal adaptations provide any other evolutionary benefits.

Zebras

Why do zebras have stripes? Over the years, a number of theories and studies have been conducted to conclude why zebras have their unique marking. Camouflage and thermoregulation were just two ideas discussed. However, scientists from the University of Bristol have found out that the patterns help to deter pests. It is thought that zebra stripes disrupt the light distribution that tsetse flies and horseflies use to hunt.

Giraffes

Giraffe’s spots provide impressive camouflage, helping them blend in with the savannah and reducing the chance of being spotted by predators. However, this is not the only reason for their iconic pattern. Spots help giraffes stay cool. Each patch has a complex system of blood vessels underneath that expels heat, reducing the giraffe’s body temperature.

Tiger

When you think of stripy animals, one of the first that normally comes to mind is the tiger. Tiger stripes act as camouflage, helping the creature blend into the environment to sneak up on prey and add the element of surprise. Each species of tiger has their distinctive type of strip pattern and can be used for identification.

Whale Sharks

Fitting both sets of criteria is the whale shark with its beautiful spots and stripes. With the primary focus on camouflage against its ocean backdrop, whale shark markings are used to help it identify and communicate with other whale sharks.

Astrophysicists are using software used to locate stars and galaxies to track and monitor whale shark individuals, adapting star patterns to the spot formation to help save the species from extinction.

Milk Snakes

Milk snakes use their stripes for a special type of defence called Batesian mimicry. This is where a harmless species has evolved to imitate the warning signals of a harmful species. The milk snake stripes mimic the venomous coral snake to help scare away predators.

Animal markings are amazing! If your group is looking at ‘Stripes and Spots’, adaptions or evolution, ZooLab has the perfect workshop for you. Fill in our contact form with your requirements and we’ll be in touch.