Many of us have been there. You're out and about, and suddenly you spot someone that you're really not in the mood to see or speak to. Imagine being able to blend seamlessly into the background, almost disappearing magically into thin air.
Unfortunately, humans weren't given that superpower. Unlike some lucky animals. Chameleons are famous for their camouflage behavior. But they're not the only masters of disguise on earth.
You may or may not know that owls are also really good at playing hide-and-seek. For one, their feathers look similar enough to the trees in their habitat for them to be successful at the camouflage game. And their big "ears" aren't there to help them hear better. According to BBC Earth, what appear to be ears aren't ears at all. Their real ears are tiny holes in the side of their heads.
"The 'ears' or 'horns' are actually tufts of feathers, there simply because they look like twigs when raised to help them to hide," explains the site. "Owls also change their shape to hide more effectively, which is called ‘concealment posture.’ They either squat or lift themselves up to be taller and skinnier to appear less recognisably owl-like, and even sway in the wind to mimic the branches of the tree."
Another master of disguise is a little scarier. The sidewinder rattlesnake lives on the desert sands of the US and Mexico. And if you aren't alert, you could step on one.
"As well as having a sandy brown body with elliptical markings which render it pretty much invisible against the rocks and detritus of the desert floor, it also shakes itself into the sand so that it's partially covered," explains BBC Earth. "The raised scales above its eyes shades it from the sun, and protects its eyes from the sand as it lays in wait for its victims."
If prey, like small rodents, come near it, the rattlesnake strikes. It injects the animal with venom, then follows the victim until it dies. Then, voilà! Dinner is served.
On the cuter end of the spectrum is a master of disguise in the form of the arctic hare. During the summer, it looks like any other hare. But in the winter months, the magic happens. At this time of year, their coats turn brilliant white, making them almost invisible against snowy backgrounds.
They're excellent at evading enemies. Not only because of their camouflage but also due to the fact that their eyes are on the sides of their heads, allowing them to see nearly 360° without moving.
"Oh, as if all of that weren’t enough," adds BBC Earth, "They have thick black eyelashes which act as sunglasses, so they’ll almost certainly see you before you see them anyway."
#8 Pulling A Canoe With A Bike In A Snowstorm In Mid April. It Doesn't Get Any More Canadian Than This
With all the predators in the ocean, it's no surprise that some marine animals use camouflage as a survival tactic. One of them is the decorator crab. As its name suggests, this crustacean literally decorates itself to avoid being eaten.
They use seaweed, coral and sponges to complete their makeovers. "Their shells are covered in tiny, velcro-like hairs so that when they select a suitable ornament, it stays stuck," explains BBC Earth. "Some of them are even more clever, deliberately adorning themselves with toxic seaweed, or stinging anemones, which don’t bother the crabs themselves but would make an unpleasant mouthful for anything that tried to eat them."
Once they’ve grown out of their existing shell, they remove all the decorations and reattach them to their new home. Clever and eco-conscious!
#11 Was Told I Should Post This Here... Picked Up This Little Guy And This Is Where He Chose To Lay
#12 Uroplatus Sikorae, Commonly Referred To As The Mossy Leaf-Tailed Gecko Or The Southern Flat-Tail Gecko, Is A Species Of Lizard In The Family Gekkonidae
Also playing hide-and-seek in the ocean are the pygmy seahorses. They're the world’s tiniest seahorses, at just a few centimeters tall (or short) from nose tip to tail. But this isn't what makes them so elusive.
Found in the Coral Triangle in Southeast Asia, these little creatures sport bumps, which are actually calcified tubercles. They grow these to match the polyps of the coral that surrounds them. With their size and ability to camouflage into tropical coral reefs, they're not easy for predators to locate. They can even change color if they move to a coral of a different shade.
#14 The Camouflage On This Copperhead Snake I Found In North Texas
If you're not a lover of spiders, you probably won't like the next master of disguise very much. Found in Australia and parts of Oceania, the wrap-around spider does just that. "[It] has a concave belly that allows it to flatten itself around the curve of a tree and avoid being spotted by hungry birds," explains BBC Earth.
"Oval discs run across its abdomen, making it the perfect camouflage against branches," adds the site. "These oval discs give the spider a leopard skin-like appearance, which has given it the nickname 'leopard spider.'"
By day, the wrap-around spider chills out and hugs its tree. By night, it starts constructing an orb-shaped web and dines on whatever it happens to catch. In the morning, when the sun rises, it destroys the web and goes back to pretending to be part of the tree.
#16 Thought My Dog Was With Me In The Bathroom, Then Walked Out To Look For Her
