The Animal Camouflage Reading Answers with Explanation: IELTS Reading Practice Test

The IELTS exam reading section contains 3 passages which are not repeated in any succeeding exams. The passage "Animal Camouflage" appears in the Academic IELTS Reading Practice Test 5, part of the IELTS Practice Exams 2010 series. Therefore, the passage is practiced by students as Animal Camouflage Reading Answers for improving their reading skills and scoring high in IELTS reading test.

The given passage is 700 – 800 words long, divided into 10 paragraphs and contains 13 questions which are of mainly two types: True/False/Not Given type and Summary completion type. For every question type, you’ll be given an instruction which explains how the question has to be attempted. Read the instructions carefully before attempting the questions.

This IELTS test format assesses candidates’ ability to understand scientific concepts and detailed descriptions within a neutral, descriptive tone. This blog breaks down the Reading Answers to help you tackle these challenges effectively in an IELTS exam.

 

What is Animal Camouflage Reading Passage About?

The passage “Animal Camouflage” explores the fascinating ways in which animals protect themselves in nature by blending into their surroundings. It discusses techniques such as background matching, mimicry, and disruptive coloration, showing how these adaptations evolved for survival against predators. The text also highlights scientific studies and real-life examples, making readers understand both the biological mechanisms and the ecological importance of camouflage.

Here is an overview table, which will explain you better about passage and question types:

Aspect	Details
Passage Title	Animal Camouflage
Theme / Topic	Use of Camouflage for survival - blending with environment, mimicry, and evolutionary strategies.
Tone of Passage	Scientific and descriptive, with an informative tone. Explains processes and gives examples rather than opinions.
Skills Tested	Understanding scientific terms, identifying examples, matching information, scanning for specific details.
Questions Types Asked	True/False/Not Given Summary Completion
Difficulty Level	Moderate to high – requires focus on details, especially when distinguishing facts from assumptions.
Best Strategy	Skim for main ideas, underline names/terms, pay attention to cause-effect relationships, and carefully check factual statements for T/F/NG.

Read: Best Tips for IELTS Exam Preparation in 2025

What is the Main Text of Animal Camouflage Reading Answers Passage?

Paragraph 1:

Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection, proposed nearly 150 years ago, explains how traits that improve survival are more likely to be passed on. Over thousands of years, these traits have become more common through generations. Camouflage is a clear example of this process, as animals with better ways to hide from predators or prey tend to survive and reproduce. Over time, their coloring adapts more precisely to their surroundings. Scientists have identified four main types of camouflage: background matching, disruptive coloration, countershading, and mimicry.

 

Paragraph 2:

Many animals use background matching, also called crypsis, to blend into their environment. This includes creatures like dirt-colored chipmunks, green praying mantises, and ocean-gray sharks. Some species can change their color with the seasons or as they move. For example, the arctic fox and snowshoe hare have white fur in winter to match snow and turn brown in warmer months to blend with forest surroundings. Certain reptiles and fish can even change their appearance instantly, like the green anole lizard shifting from green to brown depending on where it is, or flatfish that match both color and texture of the ocean floor.

 

Paragraph 3:

However, most animals cannot change their look so quickly. Since background matching works best in one specific setting and often requires staying still for a long time, many animals use a more flexible camouflage. This type helps them blend into several different backgrounds, even if it’s not a perfect match for any single one.

 

Paragraph 4:

Disruptive coloration breaks up an animal’s outline using patterns like stripes or spots. These patterns make it hard to see the exact shape of the animal. High-contrast colors, like a tiger’s stripes, increase this effect. This camouflage is useful for animals in groups, such as zebras. Their stripes help them blend together, making it tough for predators like lions to focus on just one target. A lone zebra may rely on background matching when hiding in tall grass, where its stripes merge with the grass stalks. Lions are color-blind, so the varying colors of the grass and zebra don’t help them spot their prey.

 

Paragraph 5:

Animals with counter-shading usually have a dark back and a light belly. This helps change how their shape appears, making them less visible in sunlight. Counter-shading can also make animals look flatter by reducing shadows. For example, caterpillars use this effect to blend in with tree bark, appearing almost two-dimensional.

 

Paragraph 6:

Counter-shading benefits birds and marine animals that are seen from different angles—light from below and dark from above. Predatory birds like hawks use it to stay hidden from their prey, such as small birds and rodents. In flight, the dark back absorbs sunlight while the lighter belly reflects light, reducing shadows that could reveal their position. On land or in trees, their speckled brown feathers help them blend with branches and leaves. Penguins also rely on counter-shading; their black backs and white chests make them hard to spot underwater. From above, they disappear into the dark water, while from below, their white belly looks like sunlight filtering down.

 

Paragraph 7:

Mimicry, or masquerading, doesn’t hide animals but makes them look like something else. Walking stick insects resemble twigs, and katydids look so much like green leaves that even leaf-eating insects mistake them for real leaves.

 

Paragraph 8:

A form of mimicry called aposematism involves imitating animals that predators avoid because they are unpleasant or dangerous. For example, predators stay away from the foul-tasting monarch butterfly, and the harmless viceroy butterfly gains protection by looking very similar. Coral snake mimics, like the scarlet snake, have the same red, black, and yellow bands but arranged differently. Some moths use this tactic too: certain species have large spots on their wings that resemble the eyes of bigger animals, while the hawk moth caterpillar has markings that look like a snake’s head.

 

Paragraph 9:

Some predators use aggressive mimicry, pretending to be harmless to get close to their prey. Small animals don’t fear turkey vultures because they scavenge rather than hunt. The zone-tailed hawk takes advantage of this by flying with turkey vultures, allowing it to approach prey unnoticed.

 

Paragraph 10:

No single camouflage method works in every situation. Many animals combine multiple strategies to improve their chances of staying hidden from both predators and prey.

What’s the Summary of Animal Camouflage Reading Passage?

The passage “Animal Camouflage” explores how animals adapt to their environments using different strategies to avoid detection and increase survival chances. It begins by explaining the basic idea of camouflage as a defence mechanism and then introduces techniques such as background matching, where creatures blend with their surroundings, and mimicry, where some species imitate other animals or natural objects to confuse predators or prey. These methods highlight the diversity of ways animals have evolved to stay hidden in plain sight.

Further, the passage discusses disruptive coloration, where unique markings make it harder for predators to identify shapes, and emphasizes the ongoing evolutionary arms race between camouflaged species and predators with sharper vision. The text concludes with scientific insights, showing how camouflage plays a crucial role in survival, biodiversity, and evolutionary study.

Read the best tips for securing Band 9 score for IELTS Reading

What are the True/False/Not Given Questions Asked in Animal Camouflage Reading Passage? (Questions 1-4)

True/False/Not Given questions in the Animal Camouflage passage test your ability to identify if statements exactly match, contradict, or are not mentioned in the text. (TFNG) Questions can be particularly challenging due to factors like synonyms, subtle contrasts, and the need for precise information matching.

This task requires you to decide if the statements agree with the information in the passage.

 

True: The statement agrees with the passage.

False: The statement contradicts the passage.

Not Given: There is no information in the passage to confirm or deny the statement.

 

Here are some True/False/Not Given questions from this IELTS reading section to help you understand these challenges:

 

Q1: Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection explains that traits improving survival become more common through generations.

Q2: Only animals that can quickly change their color use background matching as a camouflage technique.

Q3: Disruptive coloration is most effective for animals that live alone rather than in groups.

Q4: Penguins use counter-shading to remain visible in both water and on land.

 

What are the Summary Completion Questions in Animal Camouflage Reading Answers? (Questions 5-13)

Summary completion questions are those which contains a summary with incomplete sections depicted by space. An examinee is asked to fill the space with words most appropriate from the passage.

Q5: Many animals use ____________ to blend into their surroundings.

Q6: Some animals can change their ____________ to adapt to seasonal or location changes.

Q7: Most animals must remain ____________ for long periods to effectively use background matching.

Q8: Disruptive coloration helps animals avoid detection by breaking up their body’s ____________.

Q9: In groups, animals like zebras rely on high-contrast patterns to confuse ____________.

Q10: Lions have difficulty detecting zebras in tall grass because they are ____________.

Q11: Caterpillars benefit from counter-shading because it makes them appear more ____________.

Q12: The body coloration of hawks reduces the ____________ that might reveal them during flight.

Q13: From above, penguins are hard to spot because their ____________ blends with the ocean.

Read about IELTS band Score Chart and find out which score you currently lie on.

 

What are the Animal Camouflage Reading Answers?

The Animal camouflage reading answers are very helpful for IELTS reading practice test. Here are the answers of the questions asked in the passage:

Ans 1: True

Explanation: In Paragraph 1, it clearly states that natural selection favors traits that help organisms survive longer and reproduce more, leading these traits to become more common over thousands of years. Camouflage is given as a clear example, showing how animals with better hiding abilities pass these traits down, supporting the idea that survival advantages influence trait prevalence.

 

Ans 2: False

Explanation: Paragraph 2 explains that many animals use background matching, including some that change color seasonally or instantly, but also others that do not change color quickly. So, it’s not limited to animals that can change color fast.

 

Ans 3: False

Explanation: Paragraph 4 explains that disruptive coloration works best for animals traveling in groups, like zebras. Their stripes blend together, making it difficult for predators like lions to focus on a single animal. It also mentions that a lone zebra might use a different strategy, background matching, to hide. This shows disruptive coloration is not most effective for solitary animals.

 

Ans 4: False

Explanation: Paragraph 6 states that penguins’ black backs and white chests help them disappear underwater, making them almost invisible from above and blending with sunlight from below. However, on land, this coloring makes them stand out rather than remain hidden. Therefore, penguins use counter-shading to reduce visibility in water but not on land.

Ans 5: Background Matching
Explanation: Paragraph 2 describes background matching as a camouflage technique in which animals like chipmunks and sharks blend with their surroundings. This helps them avoid predators or sneak up on prey by making their bodies less visible against natural backgrounds.

Ans 6: Color
Explanation: The passage explains that animals such as the arctic fox and snowshoe hare change their fur color, from white in winter to brown in warmer seasons, so they remain camouflaged with snow or forest backgrounds, improving their survival chances

Ans 7: Motionless
Explanation: Paragraph 3 states that background matching works best when animals stay still because any movement could reveal them. Since this camouflage is effective mainly in one specific setting, animals often rely on staying motionless to avoid being noticed by predators or prey.

Ans 8: Outline
Explanation: Paragraph 4 says disruptive coloration uses patterns like stripes to confuse observers and break up the outline of the animal. This makes it difficult to distinguish the animal’s full body shape, helping it hide more effectively.

Ans 9:  Predators
Explanation: The paragraph 4 highlights that when zebras group together, their stripes blend into a moving mass that makes it difficult for predators like lions to single out one target. This form of camouflage doesn't blend with the background but uses visual confusion to provide safety in numbers.

Ans 10: color-blind
Explanation: Same paragraph states that lions are color-blind, which means they can’t distinguish the color differences between zebra stripes and tall grass. As a result, even though the colors differ, the lion’s inability to perceive them clearly enhances the zebra’s camouflage.

Ans 11: Flat
Explanation: Paragraph 5 explains that counter-shading reduces the shadow and shape contrast caused by light. By having a dark back and a lighter belly, caterpillars appear to have a flatter, two-dimensional look. This effect helps them merge with the texture of tree bark and avoid standing out, making it harder for predators to notice them.

Ans 12: shadows
Explanation: Paragraph 6 says hawks have dark backs that absorb sunlight and light bellies that reflect it. This color distribution minimizes the formation of shadows on their bodies, which are a key visual cue that prey might use to spot them. Reducing these shadows helps hawks approach prey more stealthily while flying.

Ans 13: backs
Explanation: The text explains that penguins have black backs that blend into the dark ocean water when viewed from above. Since most predators viewing from this angle are above the penguin, this dark coloring acts as camouflage. It makes the penguin nearly invisible in deep water, reducing its chances of being spotted.

 

What’s the Vocabulary Used in the Paragraph?

The terms used like Mimicry, disruptive coloration or countershading may be unintelligible for some readers. They are used rarely which is what showed by oxford studies.

For IELTS candidates around band 6.5, this specialized vocabulary can be hard to understand and may affect their scores. Understanding these terms well is key to fully comprehending the passage and answering questions correctly.

The vocabulary which are difficult for common reader to understand is listed down in the table.

Term	Meaning	Contextual Usage
Camouflage	Ways animals hide from predators or prey	Camouflage is a survival trait shaped by natural selection.
Natural Selection	Survival of traits that help animals live and reproduce	Described as the reason animals evolve better camouflage over generations.
Background Matching	Blending into surroundings by matching colors or textures	Arctic foxes and flatfish use this to avoid being noticed.
Crypsis	Another word for background matching	Mentioned as a synonym for blending with the environment.
Disruptive Coloration	Using patterns to break body outline	Tigers and zebras use this to confuse predators.
Countershading	Dark back, light belly to reduce shadow visibility	Penguins, caterpillars, and hawks use this trick from above and below.
Mimicry	Looking like something else	Stick insects appear like twigs; katydids look like leaves.
Aposematism	Copying dangerous species to avoid predators	Viceroy butterflies mimic toxic monarchs.
Aggressive Mimicry	Predators pretending to be harmless	Zone-tailed hawks fly with turkey vultures to sneak up on prey.
Adaptive Coloration	Camouflage that helps animals survive in different settings	Mentioned when animals use more than one camouflage method.

Discover more IELTS vocabulary for general practice.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the passage “Animal Camouflage” provides fascinating insights into the survival strategies animals adopt to adapt and protect themselves in nature. By practicing Animal Camouflage reading answers, IELTS aspirants can sharpen their comprehension skills, enhance their ability to analyze detailed information, and familiarize themselves with common question types. This practice not only improves accuracy and speed in the reading section but also builds confidence for the actual exam. Focusing on such passages ensures well-rounded preparation and a stronger chance of achieving a high band score.