Why do zebras have stripes? Popular explanations range from camouflage to confusion of predators, social facilitation, and even temperature regulation. It is a challenge to test these proposals on large animals living in the wild, but using a combination of careful observations, simple field experiments, comparative information, and logic, Caro concludes that black-and-white stripes are an adaptation to thwart biting fly attack.
Why do giraffes have such long necks? Why are zebras striped? And why does the clitoris of the female hyena exactly resemble and in most respects function like the male's penis?Deploying the latest scientific research and his own extensive observations in Africa, Léo Grasset offers answers to these questions and many more in a book of post-Darwinian Just So stories. Complex natural phenomena are explained in simple and at times comic terms, as Grasset turns evolutionary biology to the burning questions of the animal kingdom, from why elephants prefer dictators and buffaloes democracies, to whether the lion really is king.The human is, of course, just another animal, and the author's exploration of two million years of human evolution shows how it not only informs our current habits and behavior, but reveals that we are hybrids of several different species.Prepare to be fascinated, shocked and delighted, as well as reliably advised — by the end, you will know to never hug the beautiful, cuddly honey badger, and what explains its almost psychotic nastiness.This is serious science at its entertaining best.
This series ties into many different school science topics and will teach students a huge amount about science without feeling textbook-like. The magazine style layout of these high-interest topics is designed for maximum appeal.
With a simple text and vivid full-color photographs, Stephen R. Swinburne shows children a wide range of nature's exquisite designs. He invites children to open their eyes and look for patterns in water and on land, in the air and on the ground, and in their own neighborhoods. They will see the world as they've never seen it before.
From eminent biologists like Alfred Russel Wallace and Charles Darwin to famous authors such as Rudyard Kipling in his Just So Stories, many people have asked, “Why do zebras have stripes?” There are many explanations, but until now hardly any have been seriously addressed or even tested. In Zebra Stripes, Tim Caro takes readers through a decade of painstaking fieldwork examining the significance of black-and-white striping and, after systematically dismissing every hypothesis for these markings with new data, he arrives at a surprising conclusion: zebra markings are nature’s defense against biting fly annoyance. Popular explanations for stripes range from camouflage to confusion of predators, social facilitation, and even temperature regulation. It is a serious challenge to test these proposals on large animals living in the wild, but using a combination of careful observations, simple field experiments, comparative information, and logic, Caro is able to weigh up the pros and cons of each idea. Eventually—driven by experiments showing that biting flies avoid landing on striped surfaces, observations that striping is most intense where biting flies are abundant, and knowledge of zebras’ susceptibility to biting flies and vulnerability to the diseases that flies carry—Caro concludes that black-and-white stripes are an adaptation to thwart biting fly attack. Not just a tale of one scientist’s quest to solve a classic mystery of biology, Zebra Stripes is also a testament to the tremendous value of longitudinal research in behavioral ecology, demonstrating how observation, experiment, and comparative research can together reshape our understanding of the natural world.
If the zebras lost their stripes and became different from one another, some white and some black, would they turn and fight each other and stop living life as loving friends?
As a group of African animals hang out at the local watering hole, they share funny stories about how the zebra got its stripes. At the end of the book, fun facts explain why zebras really have stripes. For any child intrigued by zebras, this colorful, informative book is a must!
Little Zebra is having a very odd day. Can you help him search for his stripes? ‚With interactive lift-the-flap pages and gorgeous illustrations by Jedda Robaard, join Little Zebra on his adventures as he hunts for his missing stripes.
Coated in wonderful stripes of black and white, Mary the zebra often spent her mornings munching on Serengeti grass with her family. One morning, an unfamiliar face trotted over the hill by her field. Join Mary and her friends as they uncover the importance of acceptance and what it means to make diversity our strength.
This is the story of Zane, a zebra with autism who worries that his differences make him stand out from his peers. With careful guidance from his mother, Zane learns that autism is only one of many qualities that make him special. Contains a “Note to Parents” by Drew Coman, PhD, and Ellen Braaten, PhD, as well as a Foreword by Alison Singer, President of the Autism Science Foundation.
