The fact that zebra's stripes evolved to avoid getting bit by flies (and specifically, the tsetse fly, which transmits a deadly) has been known since at least t

The fact that zebra's stripes evolved to avoid getting bit by flies (and specifically, the tsetse fly, which transmits a deadly) has been known since at least the 80s. I wonder why these researchers are doing these experiments now. In certain parts of Africa zebras have lost most of their stripes, and the map of stripeless zebra is strongly correlated with the map of where the tsetse fly are less active.