Critters blending in with their habitat

Blending in with the habitat is a survival advantage for creatures in the wild.  It is harder for predators to spot a critter who blends in well with its surroundings.  Wildlife photographers aren't exactly predators (we hope!), but sometimes we, too, have some difficulty spotting critters that blend well with their habitat.

Consider the photos series below.  In the first pair of photos an American Pika is  perched on a rock.  The color of its fur is so similar to that of the surrounding rocks that in the longer shot, the little animal almost could go unnoticed.


American Pika (Ochotona princeps)
American Pika (Ochotona princeps)


American Pika (Ochotona princeps)
American Pika - Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
In the next pair of photos, a Yellow-bellied Marmot sits in repose.  This animal's larger size and golden color usually make it easier to spot amid the rocky background than the Pika .  In this instance, though, the critter just happened to stop next to a rock of a color similar to the animal's coat.  I do not know whether this was by intention or by chance, but it did make it tougher to get a photo in which the animal stood out from the background.

Yellow-bellied Marmot (Marmota flaviventris)
Yellow-bellied Marmot (Marmota flaviventris)


Yellow-bellied Marmot (Marmota flaviventris)
Yellow-bellied Marmot - Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Both of these mountain-dwelling species prefer high-elevation habitats. I photographed these two individuals in Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park near the base of the Tundra Communities Trail, at an elevation of around 12,000 feet (3,700 meters).

Here are some earlier posts on this blog with photos and more information about these two animals:





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