![]() Even huge animals like humpback whales often have some sort of countershading! An animal such as a penguin will be lighter on its belly, so it blends in against the lighter water and sky above it, but darker on its back, so that it blends in with darker, deeper water or the ocean floor below. Remember the spirit bear, which blends in with the bright sky while hunting salmon? It’s the same concept. This usually means the top side of the animal is dark, while the bottom half is lighter. Some animals display forms of “countershading,” in which their body is split between light and dark tones. The Sally Lightfoot crab is bold and beautiful as an adult, but as a vulnerable youngster its colors are muted, so it can blend in with the dark lava rocks it calls home. Camouflage helps protect young, vulnerable creatures. This is common in young ungulates like deer or elk, but even the pumas we mentioned are spotted at a young age. Young mammals often sport spotted coats, which also help their disguise. But if you put a bunch of them together in a herd, the animals start to blend together… it’s suddenly difficult for a predator to figure out where one animal begins and the next one ends, so it’s that much harder to pick out a meal. It’s thought that the white-furred bears have more success catching salmon than the black-furred bears, because their lighter color blends in better with the bright sky, so fish can’t see them as well.Ī whale shark can disappear into the murk quite quickly thanks in part to its spots.Ī zebra’s coat may seem loud and bold… black and white stands out against a brownish background. The spirit bear is a rare type of black bear… one in every ten bears in this subspecies are born with white fur. The patterns on the backs of some venomous snakes allow them to hide in plain sight until something edible comes wandering by.Īmong individuals in the same species, some color variations are thought to help more than others. Some predators don’t stalk and sneak up on prey. It’s amazing how well they blend in with the fallen brown leaves on the jungle floor. If you can’t find the cat, follow the guanaco’s gaze downward… it’s about a quarter of the way up from the bottom of the frame.įarther north in tropical rainforests, the pumas are actually a darker, richer brown color. It was only discovered when it crept forward toward another guanaco and forgot about this one. They might be poisonous, like the aptly-named poison dart frog, or maybe they sting, like a fuzzy caterpillar.Ī puma tries to hide from a guanaco. Many species of snakes, frogs, or insects show off bright warning colors so that predators won’t eat them. We use red, yellow, and orange to denote danger or caution in our own signs and markers, don’t we? It’s the same with wildlife. ![]() Some animals use bright colors as warning signals. They attract a lot of attention, which is sort of the point, I suppose. ![]() The world is full of many colorful animals, species that are known for their beauty and bright colors. I’m going to share some animals with you that are good at hiding… species that use camouflage and mimicry to their advantage while trying to survive in the wild. Hi everyone, and welcome to the latest installment of Learning About Wildlife. Also, there are a lot of examples of macro photography used in this video, but I’m not all that good of a macro shooter, so at the bottom of this page I’ve included links to a few other photographers who do some excellent macro work and can show you some really fine examples of camouflaged animals in their portfolios. In conjunction with the release of this video, I am posting the video transcript and some photos below, in case you’d prefer to read rather than watch (or if you want something to refer back to quickly). This ended up being the longest educational video I’ve done so far, longer than I’d hoped to be honest, but there are a lot of cool examples of species that use colors, patterns, shapes and other techniques to hide from predators or prey. This edition discusses the art of camouflage, and the animals that employ it to survive in the wild. I’ve published the third installment in my “Learning About Wildlife” video series.
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