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Animals use natural camouflage to protect themselves

ASSOCIATED PRESS A killdeer bird sits on its nest with four eggs at a campground near Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., in this 2011 photo. The killdeer often lays its eggs in gravel like this so they can be camouflaged.

With the spring turkey season underway, I’m sure you have seen hunters dressed from head to toe in camouflage clothing and footwear. This art of concealment is nothing new. Animals have been using camouflage since time began and, for some animals, their only means of protection is to be indistinguishable with the background.

Background-matching is perhaps the most common camouflage tactic. In background-matching, a species conceals itself by resembling the surroundings, in coloration, form and movement. In its simplest form, animals, such as deer and squirrels, resemble the earth tones of their surroundings.

From birth to death, most animals struggle to survive. Cavity nesters lay their eggs in protective places, where they cannot be seen. Usually, these birds lay white eggs, since they have no need to lay eggs that blend in with the background because their eggs are already hidden.

A bird, such as a killdeer, lays its eggs out in the open, usually on gravel. If a killdeer’s eggs were white, predators would have an easy time finding them. However, a killdeer’s eggs are speckled, appearing as gravel, which makes it hard for predators to find.

Although many bird species are colored alike, in other species, the male is brightly colored. A general rule is when both male and female appear the same, they both share duties in incubating the eggs. When the male is brightly colored, the female will be the only one incubating the eggs. The reason for this is that the brightly colored male might give away the location of the nest.

Hunters know the dark-colored pelt of a deer can readily be seen on a snowy day. However, at this time, the deer is not using camouflage for protection. The deer is using sight, smell, hearing and speed to outwit its enemies, including man.

At birth, a fawn is incapable of sensing danger due to its lack of experience. Nature takes care of the fawn by blending the small deer in with the sunlight patches on the forest floor. During the first few weeks, the fawn produces very little scent, which also provides protection against predators that cannot kill what they cannot see or smell.

Animals with fur rely on different camouflage tactics than those with feathers or scales. For example, feathers and scales can be shed and changed quickly and fairly regularly, while fur can take weeks or even months to be grown. Animals with fur are more often camouflaged by season. For example, the arctic fox has a white coat during the winter and a brown coat during the summer. Another example is the weasel that turns white except for its black-tipped tail during the winter months. A weasel is known as an ermine when wearing its white winter coat. The white coat blends in with the snow-covered background for protection and concealment so that the ermine can catch a meal. The black tipped tail is to cause confusion to any predator that wants to eat the ermine.

The snowshoe hare also turns white during the winter months, and in this case, it is for protection. While sitting on the white snow, the hare becomes almost invisible to the fox, hawk and even the sharp-eyed owls.

In the animal kingdom, the utmost concern is getting a meal, while the next concern is not to become a meal. This camouflage makes a smaller and weaker animal more likely to survive in its struggle against its natural enemies. Of course, camouflage alone is not enough to guarantee success in staying alive. Animals from the wild kingdom use many methods to survive. However, one of the most fascinating ways is camouflage.

The Native Americans were masters at hunting. They were also masters at camouflaging themselves. Due to their primitive equipment, the hunters needed to get very close to their quarry. Quite often a Native American hunter draped a deer skin over his body and then crawled on his hands and knees, while maneuvering upwind from grazing animals. With great patience and stealth, the hunter got close enough to the grazing herd to get a shot with either his spear or bow and arrow.

Can you imagine the courage the hunter had to crawl amongst a herd of buffalo, knowing quite well that the herd could become spooked and stampede? This method of killing a buffalo often resulted in the death of the hunter. The Native Americans were so adept at camouflaging that they were able to catch turkeys and eagles by hand.

When game departments were formed in an attempt to save the dwindling supply of game, their wardens were dressed in green. Perhaps this was also an attempt to blend into the background of the forest, enabling early wardens to sneak up on violators of the new game laws. Most game departments still issue green uniforms to their officers.

Bill Bower is a retired Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Officer. Read his blog and listen to his podcasts on the outdoors at www.onemaningreen.com.

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