Fo r Cre ative M inds
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Animal Hide and Seek
Do you like to play hide and seek? For animals, this game is a matter of life or death.
Prey must hide or risk becoming another animal’s next meal. Sometimes a predator
hides and waits for its meal to come swimming by! Either way, camouflage helps these
animals survive.
Look for the picture of the animal listed in bold to see the camouflage description.
H id in g
in P la in S
When an anim
ig h t
al matches th
e color of its
camouflage.
environmen
Many fishes
t, it is called
and sharks h
what about
cryptic
ave colors th
spots and str
at blend into
ipes? On lan
tall grass an
th
d
e water. But
, a tiger’s str
d break up th
ipes help it b
e tiger’s outl
it is. This is
lend in with
ine. This ma
known as dis
the
kes it hard to
ruptive colora
stripes, from
see how big
tion. Many o
fish (includin
cean animals
g clownfish
are as big as
have spots o
) to eels, ray
a whale sha
r
s, and even c
rk, it is good
a
tsharks. If yo
to have both
u
!
S o m e t h in g
e
b
o
t
g
in
d
Preten
E ls e
ake—
must be a sea sn
it
e,
ak
sn
a
.
se
er animal looks
d slides like a
th
an
o
e
an
ak
w
sn
o
h
a
s
se
ie
a
p
ake.
animal co
If it looks like
e deadly sea sn
ry is when one
th
ic
e
im
lik
M
k
o
s.
lo
ay
n
w
al
ca
right? Not
ic octopus
grouper, a mim
y
b
ed
ck
ta
at
’t you?
When
l costs. Wouldn
al
at
it
id
o
av
The grouper
Transpar
e
ncy
Being as clear
as glass (like
a jellyfish) is
to avoid being
another impo
seen.
rtant way
't
n
o
D
ou
n
Now Y
,
e
turn gree
M
t
h
e
ig
e
m
S
. It
ou
some
ge colors
Now Y
you know
y to chan
it
r its abil
d. But did fy sea dragons
o
n
f
u
o
n
r
w
g
o
e
n
n
k
usins lea nd octopuses ca
across th
o
eleon is
s
c
t
m
r
g
a
a
h
in
d
c
d
it
e
th
(inclu
ders a
wn as
On land,
eahorses oundings. Floun
af or bro
S
?
le
o
a
o
t
n
,
o
surr
olors
as it sits
change c rs to match their e ocean floor!
ls
a
im
n
a
of th
e colo
ocean
e pattern
h) chang
h
is
t
f
t
e
u
b
ip
p
r
and
e colo
t only th
o
n
h
c
t
a
m
R e d F is h , B lu e
F is
h
Have you ever wonder
ed why some fish are
brightly colored? On
yellow are easy to sp
land, the colors red an
ot. That’s why they
d
are used for things lik
signs. But coral reef
e traffic lights and st
s can be a rainbow of
re
et
colors—a perfect plac
and blue tangs to hi
e for a queen parrot
de.
fish
In deep water, red ca
n also be hard to se
e because red is the
the surface. In shallo
first color to be abso
w water at night, red
rbed at
looks gray. Soldier or
squirrel fish are red.
e
m I n s id
o
r
f
t
h
ig
L
e
inside, so th
e
th
m
o
fr
y
wn bod
p-sea
hts up its o
like the dee
g
,
li
h
l
s
a
fi
f
im
o
n
s
a
.
e
n
aters below
d some typ
w
n is when a
n
o
a
e
ti
a
th
id
u
in
in
q
m
S
g
.
lu
n
n
il
ls hunti
’t be see
Counter
other anima
rk body can
a
to
d
le
s
it
ib
f
is
o
v
e
in
outlin
almost
, can seem
th
u
o
m
e
tl
s
bri
B u b b le s
Some parrotfish mak
e a clear, mucus “sle
eping bag” cocoon at
covers their scent, m
night. The mucus
aking it more difficu
lt for predators to fin
d them.
W e a r in g a M a
sk
Some animals make
their own camouflage
. Masking is when an
animal uses somethi
ng in its environmen
t
to hide itself. Some
hide by sticking bits
crabs
of kelp to their shells
. Talk about playing
your food!
with
Shape Up!
r—it’s about
is not just about colo
ng
di
hi
s,
al
im
an
e
skin and
For som
has leaf-like flaps of
on
ag
dr
a
se
y
af
e
le
shape too. The
might guess, look lik
u
yo
as
h,
is
ef
on
St
.
ts
ey live.
floats among sea plan
of grass in which th
es
ad
bl
e
th
e
lik
ok
stones. Pipefish lo
Darknes
s
a n d L ig h
Sharks, wha
t
les, and rays
have dark ba
known as co
cks and ligh
unter shadin
t bellies. This
g. To anima
dark color b
is
ls
swimming a
lends in wit
bove them,
h the dark w
below them,
th
ater below.
e
the light colo
To animals s
r blends in w
wimming
ith the sunli
t water abov
e.
W a tc h O u t!
clownfish
er. Orange and white
ng
da
of
rn
wa
rs
lo
emone. The
Sometimes bright co
ntacles of the sea an
te
e
th
g
on
am
with
d
un
can often be fo
t is really an animal
bu
t
an
pl
ss
le
rm
ha
a
like
to protect
sea anemone looks
akes special mucus
m
h
is
nf
ow
cl
e
Th
ight
a poisonous sting.
e not so lucky! The br
ar
s
re
tu
ea
cr
a
se
r
Othe
from the
itself from the sting.
animals to stay away
r
he
ot
rn
wa
ay
m
h
orange of the clownfis
anemone’s poison!
Animal Classification
Fish are not the only type of animals that live in the ocean. Just as there are many
different classes of animals that live on land, there are many classes of animals that live in
the ocean.
Marine reptiles (sea turtles and sea snakes) and mammals (dolphins and whales) come to
the surface to breathe the air they need. Other marine animals can get their oxygen from
the water.
Fish are divided into two major groups: fish with bones and fish with cartilage (like our
ears) instead of bones. Sharks and rays are examples of fishes with cartilage. Angelfish
and parrotfish are examples of fishes with bones.
Invertebrates are animals without a backbone. More than 90% of all animals on earth are
invertebrates. This includes mollusks (whelks, conchs, octopuses, clams, oysters), worms,
and arthropods (insects, crustaceans, spiders), among others.
cartilage fish
bony fish
mollusk
arthropod
Food for Thought
What are some of the things you do when you hide during a game of hide and seek?
You might hide in or behind something—animals do, too.
Imagine if you could change your skin color to blend into your surroundings. In fact,
if you look at an Army camouflage outfit, that’s what soldiers do with their clothes!
To what color would you change your skin to hide in or around . . .
water
grass
sand
mud
snow
rocks
le a v e s
tr
ee
s