Grey camouflage 'better than zebra stripes'

[Still Waters 51,019]

Dull, featureless camouflage provides better protection from predators than zebra stripes, according to a new study.

Biologists explaining the existence of such stripes have proposed the "motion dazzle hypothesis", which suggests that high-contrast patterns can make it difficult for predators to track a moving target.

University of Exeter scientists tested this using a touch-screen game called Dazzle Bug in which visitors to Cornwall's Eden Project had to catch a moving rectangular "bug".

Bug patterns were programmed to "evolve" to find the best camouflage strategy.

https://phys.org/news/2021-01-grey-camouflage-zebra-stripes.html