We often speak of camouflage when we refer to wild animals. But can a huge animal really get camouflaged or hidden in its natural environment?

We humans build walls around us for safety. Protection for us often indicates gates and barriers. We associate an animal’s birthing place with similar barriers for protection. If we think of a cub or a pup, we expect to find it in a den; if we think of a chick, we expect to find it in a nest. Finding a baby animal alone outside its nest or den and without its parents seems highly improbable to us – and this is purely out of concern for its wellbeing.

Animals do indeed blend in their environments and parent animals do often leave their babies in the simple safety of camouflage where the babies remain hidden until the parents return. Below are some examples which aim to illustrate the same.

Camouflage

Lets see if you can identify the animal in this photograph.

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If that wasn't clear, I hope you will be able to spot it in this one which was taken seconds before the first image and has a clearer view of the animal

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If you haven't been able to spot it yet, I'm going to give you a glimpse of the zoomed-in images of both these photographs.



If that wasn't clear, I hope you will be able to spot it in this one:

Let's look at some examples where animals are fairly visible from up close

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Although this is primarily due to lack of visibility (early morning fog), even huge animals like these elephants can blend in with the environment, making them difficult to see.

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Now let's look at some examples where animals are fairly camouflaged

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Download High Resolution Photograph

N.B. Rather than a pure blending of colours alone, camouflage or protection is afforded due to several factors including tall grasses and foliage, low visibility and lack of light, lack of light penetrating the hiding space, shadows, lack of movement, etc.

It is often only when you are up close or right next to them do you actually perceive their presence. Do also note that the animals in these photographs are all adult animals. Baby animals, due to their smaller sizes and duller colours, blend in better and can be extremely difficult to see. That is often the safety they rely on.

Please refer to our pages on Finding a baby animal alone and Animals in distress for more information.