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?

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.

Renowned primatologist Robert Sapolsky offers a completely revised and updated edition of his most popular work, with over 225,000 copies in print Now in a third edition, Robert M. Sapolsky's acclaimed and successful Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers features new chapters on how stress affects sleep and addiction, as well as new insights into anxiety and personality disorder and the impact of spirituality on managing stress. As Sapolsky explains, most of us do not lie awake at night worrying about whether we have leprosy or malaria. Instead, the diseases we fear-and the ones that plague us now-are illnesses brought on by the slow accumulation of damage, such as heart disease and cancer. When we worry or experience stress, our body turns on the same physiological responses that an animal's does, but we do not resolve conflict in the same way-through fighting or fleeing. Over time, this activation of a stress response makes us literally sick. Combining cutting-edge research with a healthy dose of good humor and practical advice, Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers explains how prolonged stress causes or intensifies a range of physical and mental afflictions, including depression, ulcers, colitis, heart disease, and more. It also provides essential guidance to controlling our stress responses. This new edition promises to be the most comprehensive and engaging one yet.

"Zink is about true courage in the face of unpredictable predators. In an age where too many are quick to confront fears and differences with senseless violence, Zink exemplifies the importance of tolerance and acceptance. Imaginative, funny, and heartbreaking, this allegory features a pre-teen girl with leukemia and a herd of talking African zebras whom she meets when she is diagnosed with her life-threatening illness. The zebras include street-smart Ice Z, grandfatherly Papa Zeke and pompous Zilch, along with Shlep, a furry green monkey who's certain he's also a zebra. The zebras recount to her their legend of Zink, a mythical polka-dotted zebra once an outcast but later a hero. As Becky's condition worsens and she is mistreated by some classmates, she zaps back and forth between real life and the zebra world, until the shattering, breathtaking, and uplifting climax."--Publisher's description."

A collection of stories, poems, riddles, games, and hands-on activities focusing on the mathematical aspects of a trip to the zoo.

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!