Why are some animals black and white?

Why are zebras so stripy? Why do penguins wear tuxedos? And why do pandas have such distinct markings?

Show more

Listener Jude in Canada wants to know why some animals are black and white. Why do zebras risk being so stripy? Why do pandas have such distinct marking? And do they have something in common?

Presenter Caroline visits Pairi Daiza, a zoo in Belgium. Together with her guide for the day, Johan Vreys, she looks at these weird and wonderful animals up close. First, she visits three zebras having breakfast. Ecologist Martin How from the University of Bristol explains his ingenious experiment involving horses with zebra blankets. Next on the tour is the giant panda which, according to Prof Tim Caro from the University of Bristol, looks at the way it does to camouflage in snowy forests in China. But there are many more animals to see, and many more reasons to be monochrome, including the penguin and its tuxedo-like colouration. Hannah Rowland, senior lecturer at the University of Liverpool explains that it might have more than just a single function. It turns out, scientific answers aren’t always black and white.

Presenter: Caroline Steel
Producer: Florian Bohr
Editor: Ben Motley

(Photo: The zebra was running gracefully running in the green water. Credit: Surasak Suwanmake/Getty Images)

Show less