Camouflage (or cryptic coloration) is the

process of blending into the background.

It only works if the predator hunts by vision -

animals who hunt by sound or smell are not

fooled by camouflage Many animals have color

patterns which match the environment in which

they live. If they freeze against this background,

they blend in and are harder to see.

In nature, every advantage increases an animal's chances of survival, and therefore its chances of reproducing.

This simple fact has caused animal species to evolve a number of special adaptations that help them find food and keep them from becom-ing food.

One of the most widespread and varied adaptations is natural camouflage, an animal's ability to hide itself from predator and prey.

In this article, we'll see how animals blend in with their environment so that others might overlook them.

We'll look at a few sophisticated hiders who can change their camouflage in accordance with a change in their surroundings.

In addition to these expert hiders, we'll look at some animals who don't hide at all, but throw predators off by disguising themselves as something dangerous or uninteresting.

Animals with natural camouflage colors inherited their colors from their parents, or occasionally with new colors from genetic mutations.

New colors can be good or bad. Animals which are born with bad camouflage colors are easy to spot, so they don't tend to live long.

For example, a white deer would be easier for a cougar to find and eat. On the other hand, a white cougar would be easier for a deer to avoid, so the cougar would starve. Animals that are born with better camouflage coloring can survive and pass their coloring to their offspring.

There are many ways animals camouflage

themselves.

An animal's color, shape, or skin texture can

help them blend in with their environment.

For example, there are insects that look like

leaves or twigs or tree bark, fish that have the

same color patterns as the particular type of

coral they hide in, and birds that blend in with

the rocks where they roost.

Other animals can actually change their appearance according to their environment.

The arctic fox for example has a dark colored coat in the spring and summer months when there are green plants and dark soil every where.

But then in the winter when snow is covering everything, the fox's coat turns all white. The behavior of some animals also helps them to blend in.

For instance, green chameleons that live in trees tend to sway back and forth when sitting on a branch - this makes them appear as if they were just a leaf blowing in the breeze.

As you probably know, there are still other animals that can actually change the color or texture of their skin depending on what their environment looks like.

The octopus and cuttlefish are great

examples of this.

They have special cells in their bodies that

allow them to rearrange pigment molecules

(colored molecules) in order to change the

color patterns in their skin. Some of them

can also make their skin either smooth or

prickly.

Picture For More Camouflage Animal

1. Owl

Picture For More Camouflage Animal2. Uroplatus Geckos

Picture For More Camouflage Animal3. Willow Ptarmigan

Picture For More Camouflage Animal4.Spider

Picture For More Camouflage Animal

5.Stone Flounder

Picture For More Camouflage Animal6.Common Baron Caterpillar

Picture For More Camouflage Animal7.Frog

Picture For More Camouflage Animal8.Moth(Eyespot)

Animals were Young or Adult Of Aquatic Animals