Rudyard Kipling supposed the zebra acquired its stripes so it could blend into the forest shadows, hidden away from the leopard and man.

But the markings also hold another advantage, scientists have discovered, after finding they disorientate bloodsucking horse flies.

Researchers at the University of Bristol used video analysis to test whether flies were more likely to attack zebras or horses at stables in North Somerset. They found that although flies circled and touched horses and zebras at similar rates, they landed on zebras 25pc less often.

The video footage showed while flies slowed down substantially before landing on horses, when they approached zebras they failed to decelerate, often crashing into the zebra and ricocheting off.

The research was published in the journal ‘PLOS One’.

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