In nature nothing happens by chance, and animal "costumes" are no exception. Between stripes, spots, and exuberant colors, the final goal is only one, the preservation of the species.

But how is it that such different “costumes” have the same purpose?

The truth is that although the final objective is the same, the way they achieve this end varies from case to case. Camouflage, attraction, or even adaptation to the climate are some of the functions that animal "costumes" perform.

There are many examples, and a walk through the Zoo is an excellent moment for the exercise of identifying the meaning of the "masks" of the animal world.

We leave some tips for the next time you visit the Zoo:

The zebra has a black and white stripe pattern that is hard to understand on an African savanna. How does it camouflage/hide, with these colors, in a landscape with a brown background? The answer is simple. Its main predators, the lions, have black and white vision, so the zebra's stripes confuse the king of the savannah, making it difficult to hunt.

The penguin's black and white suit exists to camouflage him in the sea, where his predators are. They can come either from the water or from the air. When swimming, the penguin has its black part facing up and its white part facing down. This way, any animal that intends to hunt it, by looking at the surface, will confound the penguin with the sea bottom. Animals looking at the white belly in contrast to the illuminated surface will be confound it with the surface.

The male peacock has a large colorful tail that does not help in camouflage but plays the important role of attraction. In mating season, the peacock displays its colorful feathers to females, in order to have reproductive success.

The meerkat has a face mask. This mask does not camouflage it or attract females. The two black spots around the eyes serves a very practical purpose, to absorb the sun's rays so that the animals can see well, on the savannah.

Buy tickets online and save 5%.

24 de Fevereiro de 2022