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submitted 3 weeks ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to c/science_memes@mander.xyz

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[-] bleistift2@sopuli.xyz 309 points 3 weeks ago

What distinguishes zebras from horses is that zebras live in anonymous herds. That is, they like to clump together to ward off predators, but they don’t know or like each other. They are not a uniform group with a leader. Horses on the other hand do have authorities and followers among them. And humans can hijack the role of the leader.

CGPGrey: The Real Reason We Don’t Ride Zebras (6:23)

[-] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 159 points 3 weeks ago

zebras live in anonymous herds. That is, they like to clump together to ward off predators, but they don’t know or like each other.

Zebra's don't like anyone, and they're not afraid to show it. Repeatedly.

[-] M137@lemmy.world 11 points 3 weeks ago

And donkeys like only one person and will absolutely fuck up anyone or anything that tries to hurt that person or the donkey itself.

[-] Skullgrid@lemmy.world 44 points 3 weeks ago

What distinguishes zebras from horses is that zebras live in anonymous herds.

says a lot about 4chan, the penny arcade GIFT theory, etc

[-] Duamerthrax@lemmy.world 61 points 3 weeks ago

With how Facebook forces real names, the idea that being anonymous has any influence where or not someone is a fuckwad had been debunked.

[-] AbsolutelyNotAVelociraptor@piefed.social 55 points 3 weeks ago

It's not the anonimity that makes people fuckwads. It's the lack of immediate consequences. A fuckwad won't get a punch in the face for what they say on facebook, hence they feel they can say anything and be a fuckwad.

[-] Duamerthrax@lemmy.world 49 points 3 weeks ago

"Social media made y'all way too comfortable with disrespecting people and not getting punched in the face for it", Mike Tyson

Regardless of how you feel about Tyson, Truth is Truth.

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[-] stenAanden@feddit.dk 27 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

This makes me wonder... How much of what he says is just conjecture? Do we ACTUALLY know with good certainty that zebras can't be domesticated due to their nature? Or is it just a hypothesis/theory that has reached widespread popularity?

I have heard that zebras (along with other African animals) can't be domesticated because they have evolved to live among humans, when we were still man-apes. But that maybe that's just conjecture too.

Note how he have no sources in his video or description. And his comparison to chickens, cows, sheep and cats don't seem to make much sense. The relation between humans and chickens/cows/sheep is markedly different from that of horses. Do wild fowl really have family structures? Cats don't yet they are still docile among humans.

Edit: even if we really can't do we know the reason why?

[-] cattywampas@lemmy.world 22 points 3 weeks ago

Yes, people have tried to domesticate zebras before and they're just too ornery.

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[-] fossilesque@mander.xyz 17 points 3 weeks ago

nature's black bloc

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[-] BigBenis@lemmy.world 90 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

The Cow says: Moo!

The Horse says: Neigh!

The Zebra says: I ain't nobody's bitch!

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[-] TomMasz@piefed.social 82 points 3 weeks ago

Horse-shaped, but definitely not a horse.

[-] BigDanishGuy@sh.itjust.works 26 points 3 weeks ago

Punk horse, running IDK chimpanzee firmware?

[-] X@piefed.world 56 points 3 weeks ago

“Motherfucker, do you see the way I look?! Shit ain’t for the insta, that’s for sure. I’m quite visible to you so you have a long enough time to be getting far the fuck away from me.”

[-] underisk@lemmy.ml 20 points 3 weeks ago

I thought the stripes were actually camouflage and they’re just monochromatic because the things they’re hiding from have poor color vision.

[-] bleistift2@sopuli.xyz 40 points 3 weeks ago

Latest theory I heard was:

A 2014 study found a correlation between striping and overlap with horse and tsetse fly populations and activity. Other studies have found that zebras are rarely targeted by these insect species. Caro and colleagues (2019) studied captive zebras and horses and observed that neither could deter flies from a distance, but zebra stripes kept flies from landing, both on zebras and horses dressed in zebra print coats. […] White or light stripes painted on dark bodies have also been found to reduce fly irritations in both cattle and humans.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebra

[-] pulsey@feddit.org 19 points 3 weeks ago

brb getting a full body tattoo

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[-] chicken@lemmy.dbzer0.com 27 points 3 weeks ago

The truth is we don't actually know because the zebras don't want us to:

So, the question why zebras have stripes have proven very difficult and not without risks – Stephen Cobb has been bitten in the arm and admitted to hospital twice. Despite the extra vigour of recent work, the answer remains inconclusive.

[-] PieMePlenty@lemmy.world 36 points 3 weeks ago

There's some accounts throughout history, but humans generally leave them alone. They're aggressive creatures surrounded by even more aggressive killing machines. So it stands to reason that an animal in that environment would be pretty tough to tame.

[-] UnrepententProcrastinator@lemmy.ca 14 points 3 weeks ago

It has to do with social structures from what I read a while ago.

Horses have a hierarchical structure and zebras don't.

[-] HejMedDig@feddit.dk 13 points 3 weeks ago

What you don't spot on that picture is the front "zebra" in the back, is a painted horse. Apparently that helped the zebras remain more calm

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[-] SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org 27 points 3 weeks ago

Okay, but what about the moose?

[-] Agent641@lemmy.world 86 points 3 weeks ago

Moose can't ride zebras either

[-] ivanafterall@lemmy.world 24 points 3 weeks ago

Brother, a moose can ride whatever it damn well pleases. But I'd rather not get into the personal stuff, if you don't mind.

[-] King_Bob_IV@startrek.website 25 points 3 weeks ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose_cavalry

[-] atomicorange@lemmy.world 16 points 3 weeks ago

Møøse bites kan be pretti nasti

[-] ThunderclapSasquatch@startrek.website 10 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

My grandmother knew a guy who raised a couple moose and used them to plow his feilds

[-] Maeve@kbin.earth 19 points 3 weeks ago

Other zebras: good luck with that, bye!

[-] stylusmobilus@aussie.zone 13 points 3 weeks ago

Yeah they survive for a reason. They’re very tough.

[-] jaybone@lemmy.zip 12 points 3 weeks ago

In the 1980s, in Tijuana, tourist kids could ride horses painted like zebras.

[-] boaratio@lemmy.world 10 points 3 weeks ago

One of them is killing a freaking alligator.

[-] Agent641@lemmy.world 9 points 3 weeks ago

Crocodile

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[-] stenAanden@feddit.dk 10 points 3 weeks ago

I honestly wonder if we actually COULD domesticate zebras but it would taking centuries or millennia. Just like other domesticated species.

[-] Chais@sh.itjust.works 16 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

No. Zebras don't have a herd hierarchy we can exploit. With horses you pick out the lead horse, tame it and boom, the whole herd follows you.
With zebras you get one zebra, if you're very lucky. More likely you'll get kicked and bitten.