We Dare You to Find Every Camouflaged Animal
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Whether they're hiding from predators or sneaking up on prey, many animals use camouflage as their primary survival strategy. In fact, they can be so well-concealed that you can barely distinguish them from the surrounding terrain.
There are five primary types of animal camouflage: color matching, decoration, active camouflage, mimesis and disruptive coloration. Each of them operates a little differently.
Each of the following photos contains a camouflaged animal. Can you find them?
Find the Animal in the Desert
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Animal Camouflage: Rock Hare
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This rock hare is actually hiding in plain sight. But its color-matching disguise is perfect for the rocks it's sitting on.
Rock hares don't just need to contend with predators on the ground; they also need to hide from birds of prey above.
What's in the Bark?
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Animal Camouflage: Moths
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Moths are interesting because they use multiple types of camouflage. In this case, the moth is using color matching as well as a disruptive pattern that blends into the background.
But other moths use mimicry — such as the mimic moth "Viceroy" that looks almost exactly like a Monarch butterfly.
Find the Predator
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Animal Camouflage: Mountain Lion
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You can barely see this mountain lion in the grass — and that elk probably can't see it at all. All cats, big and small, have practiced moving so slowly that they can barely be detected.
Predators only have a little energy to burn, so they need to have a high success rate on every hunt.
What's in the Tree?
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Animal Camouflage: Indian Owl
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Owls will rest during the day and be active at night, so it's important that they be able to blend in with their surroundings. In fact, some owls even live underground.
This owl blends in perfectly with the tree bark. Like the mountain lion, owls mostly hide from their prey rather than from predators.
Find the Frog in the Rocks
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Animal Camouflage: Frogs
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Left middle! Frogs are small and, let's face it, they look a lot like rocks. It's to their advantage: They're the tiny little snack packs of the sea.
In this case, this frog isn't even hiding from a predator; it's hiding from its owner.
What's in the Forest?
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Animal Camouflage: Leaf-Tail Gecko
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You might have underestimated just how big this gecko is! The leaf-tailed gecko is most of the tree trunk here, with a flat spade-shaped tail that blends effortlessly into its surroundings.
If you still can't see it, its head is pointed down! Look closer, and you'll see the outline of its tiny feet.
Find the Bug on the Leaf
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Animal Camouflage: Caterpillar
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Once you see this caterpillar, it's easy, but can you imagine spotting it in the first place?
It just so happens that this little caterpillar is also almost perfectly lined up (thanks to an extremely patient photographer).
What's in the Grass?
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Animal Camouflage: Copperheads
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Snakes wait to strike, so it makes sense that they're often camouflaged. Copperheads are particularly insidious; not only are they very dangerous, but they'll remain motionless until you're practically upon them.
But don't take that out on all snakes — many snakes make great pets.
Find the Plover Nest (With Four Eggs)
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Animal Camouflage: Plovers
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Plovers are one of a few ground-laying birds, which create their nests on the ground rather than in trees.
Yes, that's right. These birds just sort of lay their eggs wherever in the gravel, but they're so neatly hidden that it doesn't matter!
What's in the Rocks?
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Animal Camouflage: Ducks
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That's right: It's that vaguely duck-shaped rock. Ducks don't rely on camouflage a lot, but in this case, this duck family is perfectly attuned to its surroundings.
And yes, there's an entire family there!
Find the Lizard
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Animal Camouflage: Lizards
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Many lizards can actually change their skin color. While they're not as dramatic as the chameleon group, they can at least control how dark or light they get.
And, sometimes, that's all they need.
What's in the Reef?
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Animal Camouflage: Lionfish
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Nestled within the reef is the lionfish. This fish is actually an aggressive and invasive species, but you can see why it's such a survivor.
It's more of the coral here than you think and blends perfectly into the fronds.
Find the Spots
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Animal Camouflage: Leopard
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Hunters tend to have pretty great camouflage. In this scene, the leopard is skulking through the grass.
How did the leopard get its spots? Through centuries upon centuries of adversarial evolution.
What's in the Coral?
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Animal Camouflage: Seahorse
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You might have missed this seahorse because, honestly, there's not a lot that distinguishes it from the surrounding coral. But that just speaks to its excellent camouflage.
There are an extraordinary number of seahorses out there, and many of them have camouflage expertly designed to fool the eye. Just check out the leafy seadragon.
Find the Owl
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Animal Camouflage: Owl
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Another owl! Owls are incredibly successful predators. This owl is camouflaged to look like tree bark. While it may be a little obvious right now, it'd be virtually invisible at night — when this owl is most likely to go hunting.
You can see here how disruptive coloration makes it harder to make out the outline of the animal, even when you know it's there.
What's on the Tree?
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Animal Camouflage: Spider
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You probably don't want this spider sneaking up on you. But, in reality, most spiders are harmless or even beneficial.
Spiders in your garden will eat pests, and a couple of spiders in your home will keep you bug-free.
Find the Reef Octopus
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Animal Camouflage: Reef Octopus
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You probably saw the top of the octopus, but did you see the whole thing?
A reef octopus can actually take many forms. They can mimic other, surrounding animals, blend into the ground and even "become" coral.
What's in the Rocks?
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Animal Camouflage: Marmots
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Once you see it, it's obvious. But this tiny animal has to evade a number of large predators, even from the sky.
Marmots are excellent diggers; when not hiding in the rocks, marmots will dig deep into the earth.
Find the Deer
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Animal Camouflage: Deer
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You might think this camouflage isn't that great. But it's important to also note that animals see differently than we do. Often, we notice patterns because the colors are just a little off.
But not all camouflage is color-matching camouflage because predators may not see the same colors that we do. Therefore, an animal's camouflage depends primarily on what's hunting it.
What's in the Mountain?
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Animal Camouflage: Ibex
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This little ibex is almost perfectly camouflaged against the surrounding terrain. If it wasn't for its little hooves and horns, we probably wouldn't see it.
There are currently about 50,000 ibex in the world, making them endangered. They are most closely related to goats.
Find the Viper Snake
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Animal Camouflage: Viper Snake
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Surprise! The snake is actually most of the image. If you didn't see it at first, you were probably looking for a smaller snake.
This viper snake has a leaf pattern across its entire body, making it perfectly well-suited to the forest floor.
What's in the Moss?
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Animal Camouflage: Mossy Frog
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Did the eye tip you off? It's just about the only thing on the mossy frog that doesn't look like moss. The mossy frog is one of the best hidden animals out there, if only because it looks exactly like what it's hiding in.
(Did you see the second frog?)
What's in the Snow?
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Animal Camouflage: Polar Bear
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Unlike many animals on this list, the polar bear camouflages itself for the purposes of hunting. The polar bear's fur shines bright white.
Interestingly, a polar bear's skin is actually dark black, but the refractory index of its fur ensures that it blends right in with the snow.
Find the Snake
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Animal Camouflage: Snake
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If there's one thing we're going to need you to take away from this article, it's that it's impossible to see a snake.
This one's hard to see even when highlighted. Look for an S curve in the middle of the image.
What's on the Branch?
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Animal Camouflage: Moths
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That whole branch is the moth. These moths have camouflaged themselves as the beginning and end of a twig. When they nestle in toward the branch itself, they're barely visible at all.
Find the Bird
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Animal Camouflage: Parrot
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He's barely trying to hide. In fact, he's looking right at you. There are many types of green parrots, and most of them are unfortunately endangered.
What we see here might be a green eclectus. The green eclectus is interesting as it's dimorphic. Only the male is bright green, with the female showing off a different array of colors.
What's in the Trees?
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Animal Camouflage: Leafwing Butterfly
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Did we trick you? While the spider is barely visible, it's actually the leaf that we were talking about — a leafwing butterfly, to be precise.
Leafwing butterflies are incredible because they're only camouflaged when they close up. While the underside of their wings are fairly convincing leaves, the top side of their wings look just like a regular butterfly.
Find the Insect
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Animal Camouflage: Leaf Katydid
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You've probably seen a lot of these in real life — but only when you mow. Crickets, grasshoppers, katydids and other tiny little grass-borne insects are extremely well-camouflaged for their natural environment.
We just don't think about a grasshopper as being well-camouflaged because we only notice them when they're out of their natural element.
What's in the Forest?
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Animal Camouflage: Giraffe
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You've probably never been in a zoo, seen a giraffe, and thought, "Wow, that's great camouflage." Biologists don't know why giraffes have their unique diamond patterns, but some believe that they are a holdback from when giraffes may have camouflaged within substantially different terrain.
Many of the current relatives to giraffes live in forests, not savannahs. Today, camouflage may be a way that giraffes identify each other or even find mates. But this highlights something interesting. Because of the way that evolution works, animals can be left with camouflage that's no longer relevant to how they live.
Find the Spider
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Animal Camouflage: Wolf Spider
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Are you absolutely terrified of spiders yet? This tiny little wolf spider can't harm you, but a lot of spiders can.
Spiders are the perfect predator. Not only are they frequently expertly camouflaged, but they'll also stay still for long periods of time until they strike.
What's in the Grass?
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Animal Camouflage: Coyote
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Coyotes come in many types — especially now that there are hybrids such as coydogs and coywolves. This tiny little coyote is perfectly hidden within the tall grass.
Coyotes are incredibly efficient predators and scavengers, but they're also very shy.
Find the Bird
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Animal Camouflage: Japanese White-Eyed Bird
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This Japanese white-eyed bird is perfectly camouflaged to a very specific environment: sakura blossoms. A social bird, you'll often find them chirping and feeding among the brilliant spring foliage.
Find the Deer
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Animal Camouflage: Deer
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Let's leave with one last deer! This deer isn't really using his camouflage, he's using his smarts. But he's still a delightful surprise.
As the city encroaches on many animals, their camouflage actually does become a hindrance. It may be that, in a few more generations, we see animals perfectly attuned to skyscrapers and asphalt.
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