48 Clever Camouflage-Mid

Clever Camouflage FOCUS Question How do different types of camouflage help animals survive?

Meet Your Host Greetings, friends! I'm Carlo Chameleon. Today I'd like to talk to you about my favorite topic—camouflage! Animals like me have two important goals—staying alive and producing offspring. We want to stay alive because life is awesome! We also need to produce offspring. It helps our species continue. Many creatures use camouflage (CA-mo-flahj). Camouflage involves using colors, patterns, or shapes to blend in with the surroundings. Many prey animals use camouflage to hide from predators. Some predators use it, too, to hide while they're hunting. Are you ready to learn about the hidden story of camouflage? Okay, let's go!

Lasting Color Basic camouflage is called blending coloration. Take a look at this amazing caterpillar It blends in perfectly with the leaf it's on. Camouflage helps this caterpillar. hide from predators such as birds. The green color comes from a pigment in its skin. Other camouflage experts include polar bears. But a pigment doesn't create their white color. Tiny structures in each hair reflect and scatter light. As a result, their colorless fur appears white. Camouflage helps polar bears be less visible while hunting on ice and snow.

Camouflage helps some baby animals stay safe while Mom is away getting food. Check out this baby tapir (TAY-pur)! It lives in forests that have patches of sunlight. The spots and stripes on its fur help it blend in and be safe. Another type of color change is called seasonal coloration. This weasel's brown fur helps it hide for most of the year. When winter comes, it sheds its dark fur and grows a white coat. Pretty clever, eh? Do You Know? Many ocean animals use countershading Seen from above. their dark backs blend in with the dark ocean. Seen from below, their light bellies blend in with the sunny surface.

Quick-Change Artists Cuttlefish use active camouflage. They can change their color, shape, and pattern in an instant! These abilities allow them to hide or surprise both predators and prey. Chameleons are the masters of disguise. My cousin Darma is a dwarf chameleon. She can also quickly change color to match her surroundings. But she changes color based on the predators she's hiding from! Dwarf chameleons change color more to avoid birds. Birds can see different colors well. Dwarf chameleons change color less for snakes. Snakes have poor color vision. They don't even notice Darma is there!

Stripes, Spots, and Flashes Ever been to Africa? A zebra's stripes and a cheetah's spots are both camouflage. They are examples of disruptive coloration. The patterns make the animals harder to see. The comma butterfly has two-tone wings. They are orange on top and brown on the bottom. The butterfly rests with its brown side showing. But if a predator comes close, the butterfly takes off in a flash of orange. The bright color surprises the predator. It buys the butterfly time to escape. This clever camouflage is called flash coloration.