Thereâs an old joke about a cheeky pupil handing their art teacher a blank piece of white paper at the end of a lesson.
When asked what it is, the pupil explains, matter-of-factly, that itâs a polar bear in a snowdrift.
While thatâs unlikely to score them top marks, it does highlight our awareness of the animal worldâs ability to blend in with its surroundings.
And sometimes, as ±«Óătv Bitesize shows, that ability can be breathtaking.
The secret of the Sumatran tiger
Dan Simmonds is head keeper at London Zoo, which is home to more than 14,000 animals from across the world. He talked Bitesize through the camouflage techniques used by four of the creatures there, beginning with the mysterious Sumatran tiger.
âThis is one of the most endangered big cats youâll ever see and, as the name would suggest, they come from the mangrove swamps of Sumatra,â he said.
And itâs the swamp setting which has naturalists both fascinated and baffled. The murky colours we associate with those surroundings are at odds with the striking oranges and blacks in the tigerâs stripes. That doesnât stop the big cats from being absolute masters at camouflage - and, as Dan explained, nobody knows exactly how they do it.
He continued: âWhat are the colours of a mangrove swamp? Youâd probably, out of all the colours you could come up with, you wouldnât come up with orange⊠but the incredible thing is, whether theyâre at the zoo in a much greener environment, against more British-style foliage or basic grass or whether theyâre in the mangroves of Sumatran Indonesia, they disappear. Itâs absolutely incredible.
âThatâs just how theyâve managed to evolve, theyâre an ambush predator so they rely on being able to camouflage themselves, otherwise they would literally starve to death.â
Sumatran tigers are also apex predators, meaning they are not naturally preyed upon by other animals for food. Their different stripes make each individual tiger at the zoo identifiable to the conservationists there, but not any easier to find when the cats choose to hide - a mystery Dan attributes to nature, âalways being able to surprise us and stay one step ahead of us.â
He added: âWe challenge visitors to spot a tiger. Weâll say, âlook, itâs thereâ - and they canât see it.â
Why a penguinâs tuxedo is more than just a suit
A colony of penguins waddling in unison can be one of natureâs more loveable sights. Their bodies are covered in tightly packed feathers, mainly black, with white fronts. When Dan and his colleagues are introducing the colony of 70-plus Humboldt penguins at London Zoo to visitors, they often refer to the birdsâ âlittle tuxedosâ.
Those âsuitsâ are not just for looking natty in the water, either. They provide a surprising form of camouflage too. Dan said: âThe white belly and the black back are counter-shading. If youâre swimming along as a penguin and your white bits are facing downward, itâs camouflage against the sky from a predator looking upwards.â
But thatâs not all. Dan continued: âIf youâve got your back facing up to the sky against the deep dark ocean, youâre going to blend in there, so itâs counter-shading - a safety tuxedo. Itâs a really nice thing that penguins have. We try not to be emotive, but sometimes you looks at the penguins and think that theyâre vulnerable - but theyâre not. Nature and evolution protects them through camouflaging.â
The crocodile lurking in the murky depths
Another apex predator on the list is the Philippine crocodile. Unlike the Sumatran tiger, the "muddy-ish, brown-ish" colour of the reptileâs skin that Dan describes matches well with its marsh-like surroundings. At London Zoo, the team includes an enclosure design officer, who works to replicate the animalâs surroundings as close to their natural habitat as possible in the middle of a busy city.
He said: âWhen people come to the zoo, itâs interesting to watch them. In the reptile house, right at the front of the viewing glass, the crocodiles disappear. They have an ability to blend in due to the colour and texture of their skin. If we tried to do it as humans we probably couldnât do it, but nature does it so well.â
This seemingly effortless blending makes it easier for a Philippine crocodile to ambush its prey. âThis is one youâll normally see on social media,â Dan explained. âA creature is drinking from the water and a crocodile will launch itself at them and the animal has been completely oblivious, [the crocodile has] been invisible on the shoreline.â
Why is that stick moving?
The tirachoidea is one of the stick insects housed at London Zoo. Native to South East Asia, it could be even more difficult to spot than a Philippine crocodile, even if it isnât planning to pounce on an unsuspecting meal.
The insect looks remarkably like a twig but doesnât just leave it at the cosmetic level - the tirachoidea behaves like one as well.
While resting on a twig, it moves as though it is swaying in the wind, mimicking the behaviour of the tree surrounding it. Thereâs variety within the species as well. Dan said: âThe male tirachoidea are green with orange stripes, while the wingless females are green with brown dots.
âItâs also known as Cantorâs stick insect and threats that it faces include primates, bats and reptiles.â
Itâs also a very large insect. For the zooâs annual weigh-in and measurements procedure, a tirachoidea has to perch on a particularly long ruler.
This article was published in October 2023.
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