Snowshoe hare Hidden in plain sight Have you ever been outside and looked at the same spot for a while before you noticed an animal was sitting there the whole time? That's not an accident. Some animals don't want to be noticed. Animals sometimes have colors or patterns on their bodies to help them blend in with their surroundings. That's called camouflage, and it helps them survive. There are four main types of camouflage wildlife use 1 Brown creeper Concealing or cryptic coloration When animals match their background to blend in. Example: Brown creepers have coloring like tree bark. 2 Elk calf Disruptive coloration When animals have stripes, spots or other color patterns to make their body outline not stand out as much against their background. Example: Young elk calves have spots to disrupt their coloring. 3 Sculpin Disguise When animals blend into their habitat by looking like another object. Example: Sculpins blend into their habitat often looking like plants, rocks or mud. 2 4 Phidippus apacheanus jumping spider Mimicry This is when harmless animals look similar to poisonous or dangerous animals in order to fool their predators into leaving them alone. Example: The Phidippus apacheanus jumping spider mimics the more dangerous velvet ant.