A Horse in Striped Pajamas

When I was growing up back in the 50s, I loved to watch one of the first Childrens TV showsof course that show was Captain Kangaroo. And one of those sing along songs I still remember to this day was THE HORSE IN STRIPED PAJAMAS.

Hey there Daddy, do you see? Theres a horse in striped pajamas. No, thats not what it is at all, thats an animal people call a zebra. I see, but it still looks like a horse in striped pajamas to me...

Zebras may look like a horse in striped pajamas, but they are quite interesting in many other ways as well. Horses both domestic and wild are equids - long-lived animals that move quickly for their large size and have specialized teeth designed by God for grinding and cropping grass. Zebras are very horse-like, but their manes are made of short, bristly hair, and their tails are tipped with a tuft on the end - and of course their coats are striped.

Three species of zebra still occur in Africa, two of which are found in East Africa. There are a number of different sub-species of zebras and each has a stripe pattern unique to their type. Their coat patterns can vary greatly in number and width of stripes. The stripes are a form of camouflage by being a disruptive coloration that may break up the outline of the body. At dawn or in the evening, when their predators are most active, zebras look indistinct which confuses predators by distorting distance. The beautiful shine of a zebras coat deflects up to 70% of the incoming h ...