Animal Camouflage and its many types

Animal Camouflage

We discussed what camouflage is:  it is a special adaptation that allows an 

animal to blend into its surroundings.

We discussed two main reasons why this would be very important and useful:

1) to protect an animal from other animals (predators)

2) to help an animal find food (sometimes - prey)

We talked about the difference between predators (hunters) and prey (animals hunted).
Our words of the week were:  Camouflage and Predator/Prey

Next, we looked at the four different types of camouflage:

Four Types of Camouflage

BLENDING Camouflage

When the colors of the animal blend into its surrounding's colors.

Examples:  white-tailed ptarmigan, arctic bunny, flounder, 

Image Example:  polar bear

PATTERN Camouflage

When an animal's spots, stripes and markings make the outline of the body hard to see.

Examples:  tiger, zebra, leopard, leopard frog, copperhead snake

Image Example:  Leopard

DISGUISE Camouflage 

When an animal can hide in plain sight by looking just like an object in its surroundings.

Examples:  praying mantis, leaf-tailed gecko, walking stick

Image Example:  leaf katydid

MIMICRY

When an animal's looks or behavior imitates that of a harmful or distasteful animal.

Examples:  king snake, longhorn beetle, the viceroy butterfly

Image Example:  

 In Centers today, we explored the room and found several insects and animals that used camouflage.

We sorted animals by their color to see how blending into your surrounding can help hide you.

We looked at animals in our viewfinder that use camouflage like lions, cheetahs, and owls. 

We played in our snow with polar bears and other arctic animals that blend into the white environment.  In addition to our camouflage centers, we had several other science centers to explore. 

 

Books we enjoyed during the week: