Wildlife in Full Color - Ohio Department of Natural Resources

Color for ProtectionW I L D L I F E I N F U L L C O L O Rfood chain follows the order thatanimals feed on plants and otheranimals. The animals doing the eating arecalled predators, and the animals that geteaten are called prey. Each animal mustfend for itself in the wild. Wild animalsthat don’t want to become prey havecome up with some colorful adaptationsto protect themselves from predators.Camouflage means to blend in or hide.Many wild animals use the color of theirskin, fur, feathers or scales to disguisethemselves in their surroundings. Notevery prey animal has the ability to runfrom or fight a predator, so looking liketheir background makes them harder tosee.Mimicry means to look like or imitatesomething else. If a prey animal doesn’tlook like food it is less likely to be seen bya predator. Many animals have patternsand colors that make them look like twigs,leaves, plants, and even bird droppings!Warning coloration is usually a brightcolor that is used to scare predatorsor warn them that the would-be preydoesn’t taste very good.ACTIVITY: FILL IN THE BLANKRead the information about each animal, then fill in the blank with the type of protection you think it uses;Camouflage, mimicry, or warning coloration. See answers on back coverAmerican Bittern3. ______________________________Viceroy Butterfly1. ______________________________Many people are familiar with themonarch butterfly that is a frequentvisitor to backyard flower gardens, butnot everyone knows the viceroy butterfly.The viceroy is slightly smaller than amonarch, but looks almost identical. Aviceroy has an extra black stripe acrossthe bottom wings and a single row ofwhite dots, but is not different enoughfor a predator to notice. Monarchs arenot good to eat, so if a predator eats one,it will avoid eating a butterfly with thepattern of black and orange.Spicebush Swallowtail Caterpillar2. ______________________________This caterpillar spends its life eating andeating in preparation for turning into abutterfly, but it has to live long enoughto be able to do so. Since it needs toconsume so much food, it doesn’t havetime to hide from predators. Instead, ithas two large spots on its back that looklike giant eyes. When a predator sees thespots, it might think it is looking at a muchlarger animal and stay away.photo by MICHAEL HODGEThis shy bird spends most of its life inmarshes and wetlands hiding in the plants.If a bittern senses danger, it will stretch itslong neck up as high as possible and pointits bill towards the sky. The striping coloron its neck looks like a patch of grass inthe water. Bitterns will even sway backand-forthwith the breeze!photo by JAMES DIEDRICK6WILD OHIO MAGAZINE 2011- 2012