For Men of Understanding- III (Camouflage of In The Nature)

Allah has created all animate beings with features that differ according to the environment in which they live. Every living thing uses these features to protect itself or to hunt. Some conceal themselves with expert techniques of camouflage. Some turn to mimicry and others employ different intelligent tactics. You are about to see some fascinating animal features in this film, and will watch examples of the art of Allah's creation in nature. Camouflage is an unchanging element of military life. It is most important to be able to attack the enemy without alerting them, or conceal oneself during an attack. The fascinating thing is that not only human beings possessing the power of reason employ this technique, which humanly requires detailed preparation, but animals too. The bodies of those animals that employ camouflage are created with colours and designs that blend in completely with the environment in which they live. Some of these animals blend in so well, that it is almost impossible to distinguish them from surrounding flora and foliage. A spider of the same colour as the plant on which it lives, a snake that is as motionless as a branch, an insect whose wings are the same colour as dry leaves, a frog that takes on the same shape and colour as surrounding plants around it: All these are fascinating examples of camouflage. They show us that camouflage is a specially created technique. The colours and designs of some animate beings match the flora among which they live. It is very difficult to distinguish a tiger hiding among yellow vegetation. Lions are created with the same colour as the plains on which they live. They can easily conceal themselves among the vegetation. Just like a camouflaged soldier, they slowly creep up on their prey. Thanks to its natural camouflage, the cheetah is also able to approach its prey unnoticed. By the time its quarry sees it, it is much too late. Some masters of camouflage live at the poles, the coldest regions on Earth. We will shortly be seeing the extraordinary camouflage of a bird that survives in such a climate. It is autumn in a snow-covered rocky area. There are two polar birds hidden here. Can you see them? There they are. It is almost impossible to distinguish them in their natural habitat, because their feathers have a superb camouflage that imitates their natural surroundings. Let us look a little more carefully: the bird's white feathers are an exact copy of the snow. The patches of ground remaining among the snow have been faithfully reproduced on its feathers. Ground and bird are exact copies of each other. It is almost impossible to distinguish them. It is winter, and the snow covers everything. A miraculous change occurs on the bird's body. All its dark feathers disappear, leaving only the white. It is again almost impossible to distinguish the pure white bird amidst the snow. The bird is totally unaware of it. Yet again, its body is perfectly camouflaged. The dark hairs around its eyes stop it being blinded by light reflected from the snow. It is spring. The snow has begun to melt. Plants are pushing up through it. And between the feathers of the bird, new feathers emerge, the green colour of the plants. It is summer. The snow has completely melted, and the layer of vegetation is green. The polar bird again displays extraordinary camouflage. If you look carefully, you will see that a pre-planned change has again taken place. Its body is covered in feathers that resemble the vegetation. It is again all but impossible to see it. This wonderful display of camouflage requires an explanation, of course. It is naturally impossible for the bird from its own will to have determined the colours of its feathers in accordance with prevailing conditions. It does not have the intelligence even to know what camouflage means. So who is it, in that case, that gives the bird its extraordinary capacity for camouflage? Who knows that the camouflage will need to change as the seasons pass? Who placed the colours and designs of its surrounding on its feathers, just like an artist? These questions lead us to one answer: Allah created the bird, and gave it the features it possesses. We can also find masters of camouflage, not just in forests or in the snow, but in the depths of the oceans. One of the greatest marine masters of camouflage is perhaps the octopus. Some species of octopus match their colours and designs quite perfectly to the surface over which they are travelling. The octopus you are looking at is an expert mimic, as well as having a splendid technique for camouflage. When it comes to a sandy area against which it is difficult to camouflage itself, its powers of mimicry come into play