 An animal that is commonly thought to be dazzle @-@ patterned is the zebra . The bold stripes of the zebra have been claimed to be disruptive camouflage , background @-@ blending and countershading . After many years in which the purpose of the coloration was disputed , an experimental study by Tim Caro suggested in 2012 that the pattern reduces the attractiveness of stationary models to biting flies such as horseflies and tsetse flies . However , a simulation study by Martin How and Johannes Zanker in 2014 suggests that when moving , the stripes may confuse observers , such as mammalian predators and biting insects , by two visual illusions : the wagon @-@ wheel effect , where the perceived motion is inverted , and the barberpole illusion , where the perceived motion is in a wrong direction . 
