Writers’ Paradise

With so many hunters on the prowl, most animals need ways to get out of the trouble. Lots of them escape as fast as they can, using their legs, wings, or fins.
Disguise as Thorns: Lined up on a twig, treehoppers are not easy to see. They have a special trick for survival- they look exactly like thorns. Behind their heads they have a hard shield, which stretches up in a thorn-shaped spike. Treehoppers use their camouflage to protect themselves from hungry birds.Hares have only one way of protecting themselves- they run as fast as they can. They have extremely good eyesight, which means that they can start running when a predator is still a long way off. Instead of running in a straight line, hares zigzag their way across open countryside. This unusual technique makes it even harder for another animal to catch them.
Skunks don’t always take flight. If anything threatens them, they arch their backs and lift their tails to look threatening. If that doesn’t work, they squirt a horrible-smelling fluid from the base of their tails. The stink lasts for days, and the fluid can cause blindness if it an animal’s eyes.
Octopus injects a liquid that looks like ink. The octopus mixes ink with water, and then squirts it out in a powerful jet. The force of the jet pushes the octopus backwards, and out of the harm’s way. Meanwhile, the predator is engulfed by the inky cloud.
There is nowhere to hide from danger near the surface of sea. For flying fish, this is not a problem. If something chases them, they burst upwards through the surface, and then glide through the air on their outstretched fin. They speed through the air for up to 400 meters, leaving any predator behind.
Camouflage or disguise for defense: Lot of animals have patterns and colors that make them difficult to be seen. Most use their camouflage to hide from predators.
Animal Dropping Camouflage: Its hard to imagine anyone wanting to eat a bird a bird dropping. That’s why some spiders and caterpillars use bird dropping as a disguise. They have grey and white bodies, and sit out on leaves- exactly where bird dropping might land. To make their disguise convincing, they form a shape like a blob. Spiders pull in their legs while caterpillars curl up.

One Response to “Animal Defense Strategies-1”

1. Blogsvine Says:
   May 2nd, 2008 at 8:06 pm

   Animal Defense Strategies-1…

   With so many hunters on the prowl, most animals need ways to get out of the trouble….