Animals like Peacocks are so beautiful that it catches everyone’s attention.
However, not all animals want to be like that. That's why some animals' ability to
camouflage is so important to their ability to survive in harsh environments. Some
stay hidden behind trees or rock to avoid any sort of predators, and those animals
who hunt others, it disguises itself to deceive it’s prey, from there hunting their
prey easily. There are 4 basic types of camouflage. Concealing coloration,
disruptive coloration, disguise and mimicry.
First one, is concealing coloration. Now, everyone knows that bears are one of the
most dangerous hunting animals in the world. now let it camouflage itself against
the white arctic snow with its thick and fluffy white fur and imagine how
dangerous it would be, and we have Polar Bear. Its white fur blends perfectly in the
white snow, which make their prey don’t know their locations and their
movements as well. With the camouflage ability and sharp claws, Polar Bear is the
most dangerous predator in the world.
Desruptive coloration, or patterning is the method used by animals that have
patterns. This is a snow leopard. The snow leopards have a very thick fur patterned
with spots and rossets that help them camouflage in their rocky surroundings. They
also have natural snowshoes to keep they warm and silent the whole time, which
means they can sneak up on their prey anytime they want.
The next method, is disguise. The cephalopods are the second smartest creatures
to exist after mammals. Which means they don’t have to outrun their predators
when they can just outsmart them. Octopuses have an amazing ability to control
their muscles so that they can change the texture of their skin to look bumpy or
smooth. Now just stay focus on the image. As you can see, this octopus is
extremely hard to be recognized, unless I make it appears. This trick took them
millions of years to perfect and it’s worth.
Mimicry is a means of camouflaging when animals, especially insects use their
camouflage to be something it’s not. Look at these dry leaves. Do you recognise a
butterfly? That’s the orange oakleaf butterfly. This butterfly has wings that look
exacly a dry leaf when they close. This kind of camouflage is so effective that
sometimes it even tricks humans. These butterflies know their advantage, so they
often perch on tree branches or on the ground to trick predators. The dead leaf
mantis seems just like it name implies, its body is coated with dark and light brown
patterns that it resembles a dead leaf. When being spotted, the mantis freeze and
blend itseft into the surrounding. This ability also help them to approach their prey
undetected.
In short, the ability to camouflage is a very useful ability of any animal possessing
them, making them easier to hunt or avoid being hunt.
