Animal camouflage is not just about chameleons changing their colors in an instant but it’s also about polar bears being white and not brown like the grizzlies. In fact, a stick insect with its twig-like form is a perfect example of a camouflaged animal. In order to understand these cool animals’ mastery of the art of deception, we should first have an idea why they have this cunning ability.

A major concern of wild animals and other critters is to protect themselves from predators in order to survive, reproduce and pass their genes off to a new generation. Many animals have developed evolutionary traits or antipredator devices such as camouflage and chemical toxins. Smart animals use disruptive coloration to blend in with their environments and become unrecognizable to predators. However, there are exceptions: animals that are venomous or dangerous to eat (e.g. wasps) use warning colorations known as aposematism. Also, zebras use dazzle camouflage to create an optical illusion and make their shape indistinguishable in a herd.

Camouflage isn’t limited to just visual elements either — some animals use crypsis or olfactory camouflage to mask their scent from potential predators. Combined with cryptic behavior patterns, such as laying perfectly still or changing resting position, these animals can become almost invisible to all the senses.
Did you know that military camouflage was not in wide use in early western civilization based warfare as it is now? 18th and 19th-century armies tended to use bright colors and bold, impressive designs. These were intended to daunt the enemy, attract recruits, foster unit cohesion, or allow easier identification of units.

Now let’s leave the theory aside and jump to the fun part – here are 20 cool photos of animal camouflage.

Uroplatus Gecko Camouflage

(Bamboos for gripso_banana_prune)

(Bamboos for bsmith4815)

(Bamboos for dennis.tang)

(Bamboos for bsmith4815)

Bush Crickets Camouflage

(Bamboos for Josiah Townsend)

(Bamboos for BoyReale)

(Bamboos for threefingeredlord)

Stick Insect Camouflage

(Bamboos for S.K. LO)

(Bamboos for S.K. LO)

Ghost Mantis

(Bamboos for Destinys Agent)

Dead-Leaf Mantis

(Bamboos for wikipedia)

(Bamboos for Adri?n Afonso)

Leaf Insect Camouflage

Leaf insects use camouflage to take on the appearance of a leaf. They do this so accurately that predators often aren’t able to distinguish them from real leaves. In some species, the edge of the leaf insect’s body even has the appearance of bite marks. To further confuse predators, when the leaf insect walks, it rocks back and forth, to mimic a real leaf being blown by the wind. We are surrounded by quite amazing nature, aren’t we?

(Bamboos for Houston Museum of Natural Science)

Soft-Shell Crab

(Bamboos for PacificKlaus)

Sea Dragon Camouflage

(Bamboos for Feuillu)

Dead-Leaf Butterfly

(Bamboos for leemt2)

Dead-Leaf Moth

(Bamboos for urtica)

Baron Caterpillar Camouflage

(Bamboos for WohinAuswandern)

Leaf Insect Mimicking Plant

(Bamboos for petrichor)

Australian Leaf Insect

(Bamboos for Jean-Michel Bernard)

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