Animal Camouflage – IELTS Reading Answers

Animal Camouflage is a reading passage in which you will be assessed based on your ability to read quickly, understand main ideas, and identify specific information. This is an IELTS Academic Reading passage where you will encounter different types of questions that you will be asked to solve. Therefore, you must learn specific strategies to use for each question type to enhance your skills while building confidence for the exam day.

Since time is limited, you need to practice developing your time management skills while improving your logical thinking. Remember that these skills play a crucial role in completing the reading questions on time, especially on the test day. By practising diligently, you will be able to stay calm and achieve a higher band score of 8+.

Types of Questions in Animal Camouflage

Before diving into the IELTS Reading passage on “Animal Camouflage”, you must look at the types of questions which you need to answer. Remember that you need to understand the different question types and practice them individually. In this way, you would improve your comprehension skills and achieve a higher band score of 8+. 

The question types in this passage include:

• IELTS Reading True False Not Given (Q.1 - Q.4)
• IELTS Reading Summary Completion (Q.5 - Q.13)

Before you begin to solve the questions, check out the video and learn how to quickly scan out answers from Reading passages!

IELTS Band 8+ Strategies Attempt the Reading Passage, ‘Animal Camouflage’

If you want to level up your IELTS Reading score to a band 8+, a few simple strategies can make you feel much more confident. By looking at the question types, tackling passages like ‘Animal Camouflage’ will no longer seem intimidating. The following are some steps for spotting the right answers which would help you get the most out of such practice tests.

• Always scan the instructions given for the questions so that you can identify the directions before you write anything on the answer sheet. Ignoring this would lead to getting the wrong answer if instructions are not followed.
• The questions are given in chronological order, where you will find the information for the first question in the beginning, followed by finding information for the next question. Therefore, it is ideal to not spend too much time on one question.
• You need to get familiar with the Time Management for IELTS Reading since you will only have 60 minutes to attempt all 40 questions given in 3 sections. Therefore, time yourself when you prepare with such passages to identify whether your speed is improving and highlight sections where you tend to lose focus.
• In true, false, not given question type, beware of terms that could subtly alter the meaning of the phrase. For example, many, some, never, few, all, always, etc.
• Before attempting the sentence completion questions, read the passage or relevant section carefully. This will help you identify the purpose of the missing words or phrases.
• Understand  How to Ace IELTS Reading with 'Keyword Technique' so that you can spot the information in the passage. However, try to comprehend the context and the main idea of the text.
• Based on the context and clues, try to predict what type of words or phrases would fit logically in the sentence. Think about the grammar and meaning of the sentence and make educated guesses about the missing information.
• Pay close attention to the IELTS Grammar and word form in the sentence. Ensure that the words you choose to fill in the blanks are grammatically correct and fit the sentence structure. Be mindful of verb tenses, plurals, and word forms.

IELTS Reading Passage on Animal Camouflage 

Animal Camouflage 

A The theory of natural selection, proposed by Charles Darwin almost 150 years ago, hypothesizes that organisms with traits that give them a survival advantage tend to live: longer and produce more offspring. Over many thousands of years of evolution, those beneficial characteristics dominate the gene pool. Animals that use camouflage to conceal themselves from their enemies, predator and prey alike, provide a classic example of natural selection at work. Creatures with some type of protective coloring pass along the genes responsible, with each generation fine tuning them along the way, eventually providing the most effective coloring for their environment and lifestyle. Scientists have described four types of camouflage that animals use: background matching, disruptive coloration, countershading, and mimicry.

B From dirt-colored chipmunks and gophers to leaf-green praying mantises and tree frogs to ocean gray mackerel and sharks, all sorts of wildlife use background matching, also known as crypsis, to blend in with their surroundings. Some animals have the ability to alter their coloring as their environment changes seasonally or as they change locations. The arctic ox and the snowshoe hare both have white winter fur that matches the snow and ice around them, but a brown pelt in warmer weather blends in with their woodland environs. Some reptiles and fish can alter their surface appearance instantly as they move from place to place. The green anole lizard changes from green to brown as it travels among leaves and branches, whereas the flounder and other types of flatfish are able to match not just the color but also the silty or mottled sandy texture of the ocean floor beneath them.

C Most animals, though, cannot change their appearance so easily. Because background matching works only for a specific setting and often requires animals to remain motionless for long periods, a somewhat more effective strategy involves having a camouflage that works on many backgrounds, blending in with all, but not perfectly matching any of them.

D Disruptive coloration uses a pattern such as stripes or spots to disrupt the body outline. The pattern breaks up the contour of the animal’ body, confusing observers and making it difficult to distinguish an individual shape. Colors with more contrast, like a tiger’s stripes, tend to increase the disruptive effect. This type of camouflage works well for animals that travel in herds. It helps zebras blend In not so much with their background as with each other. Their major predator, the lion, sees a mass of moving stripes and has trouble targeting a specific animal. A single zebra, on the other hand, may use background matching when hiding in tall grass, where it’s black and white stripes merge with the green and yellow stalks. The different colors of the grasses and zebras are no help to a lion, which is color-blind.

E Animals with counter-shading typically have a dark backside and a light belly, which affect an onlooker’s perception of their three-dimensional appearance and help decrease their visibility in sunlight. Counter-shading also can create a more uniformly dark appearance, presenting an apparent lack of depth. Caterpillars make good use of this effect, which gives them a flat look that blends In with tree bark.

F Counter-shading is useful to birds and marine animals that are typically seen against a light environment from below and against dark surroundings from above. Predatory birds like hawks take advantage of it to conceal themselves from the small birds and rodents they hunt. While In fight, a dark back absorbs the sunlight above them and the light underside reflects the light below, diminishing telltale shadows that might give them away. On the ground or in a tree, their mottled brown feathers blend in with branches and leaves. Penguins also use counter-shading. Their white chests and black backs stand out on land but disappear in water where penguins spend most of their time. They are almost invisible to an observer looking down into dark water, while a creature In deeper water looking up sees a splash of white that looks like a beam of sunlight.

G Mimicry, or masquerading, works not by hiding a creature but by making it appear to be something else. Walking stick insects are virtually indistinguishable from twigs, and katydids look so much like green leaves that leaf-eating insects have been observed trying to chew on them.

H A type of mimicry known as aposematism involves masquerading as an animal that is undesirable or even dangerous. Predators bypass the foul-tasting monarch butterfly, but they also avoid the tasty lookalike viceroy butterfly. Coral snake impersonators, like the harmless scarlet snake, have the same red, black, and yellow bands but in a different order: black, yellow, red, yellow on the coral snake and red, black, yellow, black on the scarlet snake. Different types of moths use aposematism to scare off predators; some species have a big spot on each wing to mimic the eyes of large animal, while the hawk moth caterpillar has a pattern on its rear that looks like a snake head.

I Some predators use what is known as aggressive mimicry to disguise themselves as something harmless so they can catch prey off guard. Small animals are not afraid of turkey vultures, which are scavengers, not predators. So when the similar zone-tailed hawk flies with a group of turkey vultures, it has an easy time locating and zeroing on its living prey.

J No single type of camouflage works best in all situations, and many animals use more than one technique to enhance their ability to avoid detection by predators and prey alike.

Questions 1-4

1 The walking stick insect looks like a small stick.

2 The viceroy butterfly is similar in appearance to the monarch butterfly.

3 The scarlet snake is extremely poisonous.

4 The hawk moth caterpillar is brightly colored.

Questions 5-13

Complete the summary below. 

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer

Camouflage helps animals hide from both 5……………………. Animals pass on their 6…………………… through their genes. There are four different types of camouflage. In background matching, an animal’s appearance helps it 7…………………… with its environment. The arctic fox and snowshoe hare are examples of animals that 8…………………… with the seasons. However, not all animals can easily change their appearance. Many use a different strategy, having camouflage that helps them disguise themselves 9……………………. Animals with disruptive coloration have marking such as 10…………………… that make it difficult for a predator to discern the shape of the body. Therefore, the predator has a hard time targeting one animal out of a group. Although zebras are black and white, they can hide in tall grass because their major predator is 11…………………. 12…………………… is a type of camouflage that helps hide animals that are seen from above or below. Penguins, for example, have 13…………………… which help them blend in with the dark water from the point of view of an observer standing above.

Animal Camouflage IELTS Reading Answers With Explanation 

Check out the detailed answers for the questions given above and get an idea of how to improve your reading skills. This would help you to practice more and get a higher IELTS Band Score over time. Remember to analyze the answers along with the location and explanation for each question so that you can avoid making the same mistakes. 

Well done! Don’t stop here and keep on moving with the next passage so that you can continue practising. With the right strategies, you would be able to enhance your reading comprehension skills along with the reading speed. However, remember to keep the timer on so that you can work towards success and get a band 8+.

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