4 types of camouflages that exist in the animal kingdom 

Chameleons, which excel in the art of camouflaging, have kept us intrigued since time immemorial. In fact, camouflage is pretty common among invertebrates such octopus and squid. But do you know that there are various kinds of camouflages in the entire animal kingdom? Yes, you read that right! Simply put, camouflage is a type of colouration or pattern that allows certain animals to blend into their surroundings, in turn helping them avoid detection from predators. It is also a way to conceal for stealth as they track their preys. Today, let us delve into the various ways animals master the act of hiding. 

Concealing coloration 
As the name suggests, concealing colouration refers to a kind of camouflage that enables animals to blend into their immediate environment, with the goal of hiding from potential predators. No wonder it’s alternatively called background matching. After all, several creatures avoid recognition by blending with their background. 

While animals like snowy owls and polar bears have fixed white colouration to blend in with the Arctic snow naturally, creatures like flatfish or stonefish alter their coloration depending on the surrounding sandy or rocky regions where they thrive. It helps them survive for months without being spotted. In fact, concealing colouration also involves a kind of seasonal camouflage where an animal like snowshoe hare, turns white in winter to match the surrounding snow. However, as soon a summer sets in, the colour changes into brown, to match the foliage. Incredible, isn’t it? 

Disruptive colouration 
Mostly unknown, disruptive colouration refers to the type of camouflage that uses body patterns such as stripes and spots for camouflage, like you see in a zebra or a tiger. These patterns visually break up the outline of an animal’s shape and help hide their body parts. For instance, patterns on spotted leopards are often missed out by flies (their compound eyes often find have trouble to locate the spots) and in turn they fall easy preys. Striped fish have something called a disruptive eye mask that makes it almost impossible for other animals (including predators) to locate and attack them. The goal of this technique is to cause visual disruption in predators and preys. Hence, the name. 

Disguise 
You’ll be surprised to know that animals too engage in disguise. They put on the appearance of something else from their natural environment. The animal mimics colours to match a nearby non-food item as a means to hide. The best example is of course leaf insects (popularly called walking leaves) who, as the name suggests, disguise themselves as leaves by simply changing their shades. Another common example of an animal taking disguise is that of walking stick or stick-bug which resembles a twig to be exact. Spiders, on the other hand, disguise themselves as ants to hunt for their prey.  

Mimicry 
Now, there are certain animals who are so intelligent that they find a way to make themselves look identical to other animals, which are often more dangerous than them, or less appealing to potential predators. This is what is referred to as mimicry or deceptive colouration. This kind of camouflage is pretty common among snakes, butterflies and moths. One of the best examples is the scarlet kingsnake, that is non-venomous, but has the capacity to make itself   appear like da coral snake, that is highly dangerous and contains fatal poison. Another example is the viceroy butterfly which mimics the monarch butterfly. The later tastes bad and is poisonous to many of its predators.