HIDDEN ANIMALS

Animals in Disguise

1 Many animals are masters of disguise. Some change their skin color. Others shape themselves in ways that help them look like their surroundings. These different forms of camouflage help animals survive.

2 The type of camouflage an animal develops depends mostly on its predators and its environment. Animals change in different ways to trick their predators. In most cases, their camouflage is designed to match their environment. This helps them become more difficult for their predators to spot.

Texture

3 Another way animals blend into their environment is through texture. Some insects have smooth shells that make them look more like the leaves around them. Other animals, such as squirrels, have rough and uneven fur. This helps them blend in with tree bark, so they are nearly impossible to see when they hide in trees.

Design

4 Even pretty designs on some animals can be a type of camouflage. Animals that live in areas with tall grass may have stripes to help them hide. These stripes can confuse predators. A group of zebras with black and white stripes tricks the lion’s eyes into thinking the group is a single large animal. This makes it difficult for the lion to hunt just one zebra.

Color

5 Animals may also use color as a disguise. The white polar bear’s fur lets it blend into the snowy land. This helps the polar bear sneak up on its prey. Surprisingly, the polar bear’s skin is black, but it looks white because of the way the light bounces off its skin and fur. Since some animals live in places where their surroundings change with the seasons, the color of their fur must also change. In order to blend in, these animals usually grow new fur every few months.

6 Other animals change their skin color in order to hide from predators. The cuttlefish is able to change its skin color by flexing its muscles. The cuttlefish has several small blobs on its skin that are colored with a special material called pigment. The blobs are so small that the color is hard to see when the muscles are relaxed. When the cuttlefish squeezes certain muscles, it forces the blobs to spread out. While this happens, more pigment is pushed in. The spreading blobs give the cuttlefish a whole new color. When the cuttlefish relaxes its muscles, the blobs become small again. The cuttlefish then returns to its normal color. In addition to helping the cuttlefish hide, scientists believe the changing colors help the cuttlefish communicate with one another.

7 The cuttlefish is not the only animal that can change its color. Nudibranches, which are small sea creatures, also have this amazing ability. To change color, the nudibranch eats a certain type of coral. After eating the coral, the nudibranch changes to match the color of the coral it just ate. Since the nudibranch also lives in this coral, the new color is the perfect disguise.

Shape

8 Other animals use shape as a disguise. There are some that look like they are part of the trees or the grass. Some animals even look like certain predators. For example, the hawk moth caterpillar looks like a snake head, so many of its predators leave it alone. Katydids use a similar trick. They look just like tree leaves, so predators will move right past them without even noticing.

Seeing Animals Differently

1 From insects to mammals, animals have found many ways to help them survive. One way is by developing interesting ways to see and to use their eyes.

2 Many animals have eyes that see color differently than humans. Some are colorblind which means they cannot see certain colors. Lions can only see in shades of gray. Other animals can see certain colors more easily than humans. The gecko, for example, has nighttime color vision that is almost 350 times better than that of humans.

3 Other animals can see light that is invisible to humans. Certain species of snakes have special areas called pits that allow them to see in infrared. This means they can actually see heat. Having this ability helps the snakes find their prey while staying safe from predators. Butterflies can see another type of light that cannot be seen by humans. This light is called ultraviolet light. Butterflies also see in all directions at the same time. The trade-off is that their vision is somewhat blurry.

4 Some animals do not have special vision. Instead, they have unusual eye features that help them survive. Frogs’ eyes bulge out from their heads so they can see above the water while their bodies are underwater. They also have two sets of eyelids. One set is clear. When frogs close the clear set of eyelids, they can see underwater while keeping their eyes protected.

5 The cuttlefish can change the shape of its eye. It can see behind itself and in front of itself at the same time. Although the cuttlefish is colorblind, it is able to see well in dim light. Like the cuttlefish, the chameleon is able to look in two directions at the same time. This helps the chameleon catch insects as they fly by.

6 Even goats can see around themselves better than humans. While humans can see at a 185-degree angle, goats can see at a 330-degree angle. This means the goat can almost see completely behind itself without turning its head. The owl, on the other hand, is not able to move its eyes to see around itself. Instead, the owl can turn its head almost completely around to see what is behind it.