Zebra are so photogenic, I think it is their stripes that make them so. I love this poem by Shel Silverstein (1) about the age old question regarding their stripes.

Zebra question

I asked the zebra
Are you black with white stripes?
Or white with black stripes?
And the zebra asked me,
Or you good with bad habits?
Or are you bad with good habits?
Are you noisy with quiet times?
Or are you quiet with noisy times?
Are you happy with some sad days?
Or are you sad with some happy days?
Are you neat with some sloppy ways?
Or are you sloppy with some neat ways?
And on and on and on and on
And on and on he went.
I’ll never ask a zebra
About stripes
Again.

Back to the question

A zebras coat is black with white stripes – black is the actual color of the fur, and the white patches are the areas that lack pigmentation (2). I have another post about that explains the differences between types of zebra.

Sources

All photographs on taken by the author and are subject to Copyright © D.A. STOTT (Greasley) 2016 All Rights Reserved

1. Poem by Shel Silverstein found at https://allpoetry.com/Zebra-Question
2. http://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/zebra-stripes1.htm