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Article: Creatures of deception. (camouflage in animals)
- Article from:
- Country Living
- Article date:
- March 1, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Hearst Communications, reprinted with permission of Hearst. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Camouflage, illusion, and surprise are but a few defense tactics humans may have learned from watching animals.
Say the word camouflage to a naturalist and she tends to think immediately of the chameleon, a small lizard that changes color to blend in with its surroundings. But the chameleon is far from alone in its ability to adapt by disguising itself in response to changes in its environment or to danger. A variety of mammals, birds, insects, spiders, and denizens of the deep have developed comparable traits.
Camouflage, however, is not the only trick Mother Nature has up her evolutionary sleeve. Deception is everywhere in the animal kingdom, adding magic, ...