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The Best Camouflaged Animals |
Fawns
Without their remarkably effective three-way camouflage, newborn fawns wouldn't stand a chance against predators eager to make a meal of them. Their tawny, dappled coats so closely mimic the colors of the forest floor, with spots of sunlight filtering down through the leaves, that the little ones are all but invisible. In order to thwart animals adept at detecting movement, the fawns freeze as soon as they sense danger and remain that way until they're sure the threat has passed. Their third level of protection is especially effective for foiling attacks from canid predators with the keenest sense of smell -- the fawns give off almost no scent.
Rabbits and Hare
Throughout their range, rabbits and hare are hunted by just about every carnivore on four legs, many birds of prey and the deadliest predator of all -- humans. If necessary, these fleet-footed quarry animals will try to outrun their predators but that's a last resort: they'd much rather depend upon the cloak of invisibility conferred by camouflage. In winter, the snowshoe hare's fur is as white as the snow covering the ground, but in spring and summer, when the forest floor turns reddish-brown, so does the hare. The cottontail rabbit's brown, black and tan fur stays the same color all year, but if snow makes the bunny too conspicuous, it hunkers down inside a woodchuck burrow or a brush-covered hollow to wait for spring thaw.
Ruffed Grouse
Many species of hunter consider the ground-dwelling ruffed grouse, about the size of a chicken, a delicacy. Theoretically, this bird, also known as a partridge, could flap itself into the branches of a pear tree, as the Christmas ditty suggests, although not much higher, since its wings only propel it short distances. Its inability to fly away from danger makes the bird vulnerable both to avian and ground predators, so camouflage is its only real defense. The colors of its feathers reflect the colors of earth, rock and forest underbrush -- several shades of brown mixed with white, gray and black. In winter, the grouse makes a "snow roost" by burying itself in a snow bank.
Gray Tree Frogs
These little amphibians have a wide range -- they live in deciduous forests throughout the eastern U.S. and southern Canada -- but unless you have very sharp eyes, you'll probably never know you've seen one. When gray tree frogs cling to a tree, they become almost invisible. Their warty skin changes color to synchronize with seasonal changes in the colors of their environment. In summer, their typical coloration is silvery-white mixed with light green, which makes them disappear on lichen-covered trees. In cooler temperatures with less sunlight, they turn a deep charcoal gray. And in winter, they descend to the ground to hibernate under rocks, tree roots, rotten logs or fallen leaves.
If you look straight at an animal in its natural environment yet still don't see it, chalk one up for Mother Nature, who has pulled off one of her greatest magic tricks -- camouflage. Without coloring that enables prey animals to hide in plain sight of their predators, many gentler inhabitants of forest biomes would have no chance at all of surviving long enough to pass along their genes to the next generation.
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