It’s not what color a zebra’s stripes are, it's what they do with them that counts. ), some zebras are born with genetic variations that make them all black with white stripes, or mostly dark with the striped pattern on just part of their coats. When a baby zebra is born, they have stripes that are used for camouflage, they have mobility immediately, and they begin learning lessons from the mother on how to survive. Zebra foals are born with stripes yes, but with black and white stripes, no. If you wear a zebra-print outfit in a crowd, it nearly guarantees that someone will easily spot you. By Lauren Corona. Even with all these great benefits that they have at birth, there is still extinction and predation looming. In the jungle, however, a zebra's stripes actually work as a camouflage to deter its main predators: lions and hyenas.Since the animals herd together, experts believe that the mass of stripes can confuse the predators by acting as an optical illusion that blends their figures together. Stripes may cool the zebra. They also sport wide stripes against a cream-colored background. A zebra’s stripes form during the early embryonic stages of its life. Although most people tend to think of the zebra as a white animal with black stripes, scientists have discovered that the zebra is actually a black animal with white stripes. But one baby zebra in Kenya has spots instead.. Wildlife photographer Frank Liu captured pictures of the unique baby zebra in Masai Mara National Reserve in southwestern Kenya. However (there had to be a catch, right? The zebra foals are born with brown and white stripes. These unique stripes of zebras make them one of the animals most familiar to people. Best known for their distinctive black and white stripes, zebras can be found in various parts of Africa. A leopard may not be able to change its spots, but some zebras change their stripes. Zebras are known for their stripes, but one zebra foal is definitely bucking the trend. Zebras are several species of African equids (horse family), are famous for their distinctive black-and-white striped coat. Three species of zebra exist today: plains zebras, Grevy's zebras and mountain zebras. A square flap of skin on their throats distinguish these zebras from the other two species. Zebras are recognizable to anyone as the black and white striped animal. If you had to define a zebra, one of the first things you’d probably say is that it has stripes. They have black stripes down their spines and white underbellies. Although all zebras share the striped pattern and generally look the same, there are distinct differences between the three species that exist. This would create convection currents around the zebra that would cool it. In other words, a normal zebra is born with stripes, so we cannot use the argument that, say, if it is born all black and forms white stripes during maturation, a zebra is black with white stripes.