The way of accomplishing camouflage among species is much more diverse than a squirrel’s nut collection. To ensure camouflage is both effective and swift, it primarily depends on three factors concerning a species:
1. Physical characteristics. Regarding the superficial layer of integument, we can simplify the equation in the animal kingdom as having either furs/hairs, feathers, or scales.
- Scale-based organisms like geckos (carnivorous and nocturnal kin of lizards) can change color on the scale surface in a matter of milliseconds, taking only one to two seconds to completely switch between two analogous pigments, such as from dark blue to black.
- Furs/hairs and feathers may be shed moderately fast and frequently but it would take an unfavorably lengthy period waiting for the thin projections to grow back or replace itself. For instance, creatures like the Arctic foxes dictate the nickname as the animal version of Elsa the Princess in cold, bitter winters. As much grandeur as its pristine white coat brought her, Arctic foxes are speedy in swapping out of her royal robes for a duller look of earth and brownish-auburn in the summer because the snow in the environment will melt under the heat, depriving them of protection since a palette of white would be too conspicuous contrasting to a background of muddy undergrowth. The interval between the transmission from winter to summer allotted adequate time for the fur to shed and replenish to its usual density.
2. Behavior of the predator. Just like the student’s innate nature to adapt to the teaching style of a lecturer, hoping to boost our chance of being socially comfortable, animals also evolve the habit most profitable for survival. This includes camouflage but is not merely restricted to the traditional, stereotypical image of changing colours. It’s not a holistic representation of many prey species because certain primary predators don’t hunt in a way that requires a species to stay safe by altering its skin colour based on the perceived hue in the ambiance. As we will see later, the marginalized practice of camouflage was revived and used by zebras to their own advantage. Their black-and-white stripes don’t blend into their natural home in tall grasslands and savannas, but it doesn’t matter! The main predator—lions—were color blind anyway. The rods in their eyes are much more reliable in deciphering shades of black and white than the cones for other prettier colors, so in the eyes of a lion, most of their world can be depicted using a set of sketch pencils which means the zebras blend right in. Although, according to human eyes, they stand out strikingly obvious.
3. Habit and ecosystem. Imagine a bright mahogany chimpanzee that is trying to hide in a sea of green grass, with no tree barks and hindering branches in the scene. It is like installing a siren in the middle of a hushed library. Animals recognize their need to live in habitats where their fur, hair, skin, or scale matches, at the very minimum. This comes close to avoiding being spectacular in nature because they aren’t celebrated fellows in the zoo where the more peculiar, eye-catching creatures look. For example, baby deers (fawns) have white spots on the hump of their back for the light rays reflecting off the overhead canopy that resembles such white decorative circles. So as a deer curled up to sleep on the ground, it won’t be noticed. Marine animals like grey reef sharks engage in the light phenomenon called counter-illumination that would only be applicable if it were living two hundred feet deep in the water. As exhibited on the sharkskin, the portion on their stomachs is significantly lighter in tone than the upper part on their back. In the case of an observer looking up at a shark toward the light source stretched beyond the water, the space upwards vouchsafes a clear, blinding whiteness in which the underbelly of sharks would be less noticeable if it was white than concrete grey. Vice versa, if sailors were looking into the depth of the water from above the water surface, the deeper environment is murky and almost impenetrably dark. Thus the shark differs in its shading to blend in the light effect occurring in both directions of viewing its existence.
Now we have gained some interesting insights into the primary factors influencing a creature’s ability to camouflage, in the next article, we are going to dig deeper into how unique camouflaging species achieved such wondrous competence in their games of hide-and-seek. Stay tuned!
Image credits
https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/can-you-spot-hidden-animals-cunning-camouflage.html
https://www.rd.com/list/camouflaged-animal-photos/
If interested in further image challenges:
https://www.thedodo.com/daily-dodo/people-are-having-a-hard-time-finding-the-animals-hidden-in-these-photo
https://www.treehugger.com/amazing-camouflaged-animals-4869304
https://www.boredpanda.com/amazing-wild-animal-camouflage-nature/
