In certain situations, the animal may adopt camouflage as a way to protect itself from its predators and to get its prey.
In camouflage, the animal manages to blend in with the environment, that is, its colors blend in with the colors of the place, so that it is difficult to know where it is.
See if you can find the lion in the image below:
The lion has brown fur, which helps it blend in with the environment.
Did you get to see the lion?
The lion becomes almost imperceptible, as the color of its fur is confused with the color of the environment in which it lives, and it takes a lot out of it, after all its prey cannot see it.
Several other animals are also camouflaged. See the figures below:
Can you distinguish the animals in these pictures?
All animals that developed this process, did it as a way to avoid being seen by other animals, but each animal develops a different type of camouflage. An animal that has fur will have a totally different camouflage than an animal that has scales.
Some animals, such as the polar bear and the arctic owl, are colored white to be confused with snow; while sharks, dolphins and other sea animals are gray in color, to blend with the color of the water. So we can say that these animals have a basic camouflage, as the color of their fur, feathers and scales match the environment in which they live.
Some animals benefit from the color of the environment to camouflage themselves
However, there are other animals that have developed adaptations that allow them to change their color according to the environment they are in. This is the case with the arctic fox. In summer, the fox has a brown coat; while in winter, it has a white coat.
Other animals have cells called chromatophores that give them the ability to change color. This is the case of the chameleon, some fish, amphibians and molluscs.
By Paula Louredo
Graduated in Biology
