Scientists and biologists believe that zebra's stripes are apparently not for camouflage purposes to protect them against predators.

Researchers from the University of Calgary and University of California, Davis, conducted this study in order to estimate how lions and spotted hyenas including zebras are able to see zebra stripes under different lighting conditions, in the daytime, twilight and moonless nights.

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According to lead author of the study, Amanda Melin from the University of Calgary in Canada, camouflaging has been the hypothesis for zebra striping, however this has been observed through human eyes.

Along with Tim Caro from UC Davis, prior studies also reveal evidence that zebra's stripes are apparently an evolutionary advantage for the creatures in keeping away biting pests which has been natural pests for zebras.

The team discovered that these stripes are not allowing zebras to blend within their background's environment or to break the outline of the zebra since predators can already detect zebra prey through their smell, even before they can see the stripes in the horizon.

Caro says that the results of this new study does not support the idea that zebra's stripes provide some protection via anti-predator camouflaging but the team rejects this longstanding hypothesis by Charles Darwin.

Researchers used digital images taken from zebras' natural environment in Tanzania through spatial and color filters simulating how would they appear to their main predators such as lions and hyenas and to other zebras as well.

They also measured the stripes' width and light contrasts to estimate how far lions, hyenas and zebras could detect stripes based on these animals' visual capabilities.

Researchers reveal that beyond 50 meters in daylight or 30 meters during twilight when most predators go hunting, these stripes can be seen by the human eye but are difficult for predators to distinguish. On moonless nights, the stripes are most difficult to see, which is beyond 9 meters by lions and hyenas.

This concludes that stripes do not provide necessary camouflage in woodland regions since early theories suggest that black stripes can mimic tree trunks and white stripes can blend between the spaces of the trees.

Apparently, lions can see zebras in treeless habitats easily compared to non-striped prey, with solid colors, such as waterbuck and impala. Prior theories also suggested that zebra's stripes can disrupt the outline in plains. 

Scientists also say that these stripings do not provide evidence for social identification, to distinguish each other from a distance in a group.

This new study is published in the journal PLOS ONE.