My point might have been unclear, but I didn’t doubt the usefulness of the stripes in even a slight way.

My critique was pointed at the wording. IMO it is not about why a trait evolved – there are many useless traits that envolved somewhere during special conditions and after these conditions change remain for a eternity or suddenly find a new usefulness in changed circumstances. This means pinpointing such a trait down to a single why is not a good representation of reality.

Are such observations valuable? For sure! Nature developed amazing strategies for all kind of things and not looking at these would be a waste.

I’d just be a bit more cautios with quick conclusions that involve meaning and answering why-questions, that’s all