Chameleons aren’t the only animals capable of blending in with their surroundings. Mother Nature has filled her world with multiple masters of disguise, whose stealthy camouflage makes them difficult to spot. Try to spy these crafty creatures, whose heroic hiding skills help them to survive.
Vietnamese mossy frog
It’d be super easy to mistake this fella for a mossy pebble. Only his bulging green eyes give the game away.
Lichen spider
Bit of a nightmare for arachnophobes: spiders like this one are so good at hiding that you never know when one might be lurking nearby.
Snow leopard
Lying against the rocky mountains where they live, snow leopards use their mottled grey fur to blend in seamlessly with their surroundings.
Devil scorpionfish
These patient predators spend most of their time waiting for prey to swim by, unaware that there’s any danger nearby. Then SNAP! The scorpionfish lunges in to gobble up its aquatic lunch.
Amazon leaf toad
Another amazing amphibian with enviable hiding skills, the Amazon leaf toad was rightly named after its impressive resemblance to a leaf littering the jungle floor.
Leopard
Alright, so it’s pretty easy to see this lounging leopard when the camera’s focused right on him, but we reckon that you’d struggle to find him from afar. Those magnificent spots and golden brown coat aren’t just for show, y’know.
Large-eyed pit viper
Being exactly the same colour as the trees they inhabit allow these green snakes to sneak up on their prey before striking.
Great rockfish
A close cousin of the aforementioned scorpionfish, this venomous hider is just as sneaky. Rocks and coral help it to blend it before biting out at prey.
Jaguar
Jaguars use their beautiful markings to hide in the shadows of rainforest foliage. Blur your eyes and these stunning cats are more or less invisible. This makes them a real challenge for documentarians to film in the wild.
Great grey owl
Being some of the most powerful predators around, owls like this one understand that camouflage is helpful when you’re scouting out prey from the branches.
Nightjar
Nightjars usually nest on the ground, so blending in is handy to avoid becoming a larger floor-dwelling predator’s lunch. This one seems to have it nailed.
Grey tree frog
We’ve already established that frogs are ridiculously good at hiding, and this one is no exception. Only the most eagle-eyed predators would be able to spot such a well-disguised critter.
Orange oakleaf butterfly
Stick and leaf insects get all the credit for camouflage in the bug world, but we reckon the orange oakleaf has bettered them here: the level of understated, leafy detail on those wings is truly exceptional.
Plate fish
Quickly adaptable colouration? Check. Speckled, stony markings? Check. Flat body for ultimate seabed-hiding potential? Check. Yep, the plate fish has thought of everything. Good luck spotting this species in the murky depths.