S EA R C H LIG H T What’s wrong with the following statement Chameleons can make their skin color change in order to match their surroundings
CHAMELEONS DID YOU KNOW Some say that the chameleon’s eyes helped inspire the invention of the military turret a revolving tower You can see turrets today on the tops of tanks T h e Color-WizardLizards Many people believe that the lizards known as chameleons can make their color change to match their surroundings It’s true that the color of a chameleon’s skin can change but not because the chameleon decides to The color change may help the chameleon avoid its enemies The color change is a form of camouflage a disguise that lets something blend in with its surroundings Chameleon skin contains color-causing substances called pigments that change under certain conditions For instance on a day when there is no bright sunlight chameleons appear gray or green Bright sunlight causes the skin to darken On cool nights the color fades to a creamy color The skin also changes color when chameleons are excited angry or afraid Chameleon of South Africa Erice Reisinger Gallo Images Corbis There are many types of chameleons About half are found only in the African island of Madagascar The others occur mostly south of Africa’s Sahara desert with another few in western Asia and southern Europe The false chameleon or anole is often sold in pet stores This lizard of the Americas changes color but not as dramatically as a true chameleon Chameleons live in trees where they usually eat insects They catch their prey with the help of their long and slender tongue They shoot the tongue out grab the prey on the sticky end and then draw the tongue back into the mouth Very large chameleons may even use their sticky tongues to catch birds Another unusual thing about chameleons is that each eye can move independently of the other so they can see in different directions at once This makes it very hard to sneak up on a chameleon LEARN MORE READ THESE ARTICLES KING COBRAS LEMURS OCELOTS The Parson’s chameleon from Madagascar is one of the largest of its family Royalty-Free Corbis match their surroundings decide to change it and it doesn’t always change in order to Answer Chameleons skin color does change But they don’t 9
i le Rep t The king cobra is the world’s largest poisonous snake It may grow to twice the length of a Ping-Pong table Its venom is so powerful that elephants have died within three hours of a bite on the toe or trunk R o yalty EA R C H LIG S H T King cobras are yellow-olive to brownish black sometimes with lighter bands across the back Like other cobras the king cobra is known for its unique threat display When it is angered or disturbed it raises its head and flares its narrow unmarked hood This shows its yellow or red throat which often is striped The king cobra can raise its head to a third of its entire length and may even move forward while upright It is very curious by nature and often sits upright to see farther It may be the most intelligent of all snakes People are afraid of cobras and as a result often kill the snakes Why do you think people are scared of cobras Hint What would you worry about if you came face to face with a cobra The king cobra prowls in forests fields and villages It mostly eats other snakes and normally does not bite humans In captivity it is aggressive to strangers but recognizes its keeper and knows when it’s mealtime However it can become dangerous during the mating season or when cornered or startled The female cobra builds a nest for egg laying Using a loop of her body as an arm she pulls leaves soil and ground litter into a mound In this nest she lays 20 to 40 eggs She coils above or near the eggs for about two months and fiercely defends them The king cobra is found in parts of Asia from southern China to the Philippines Indonesia and India LEARN MORE READ THESE ARTICLES ELEPHANTS MONGOOSES SPIDERS DID YOU KNOW The king cobra has an unusual hiss that is much lower than other snakes more like a growl than a hiss 10
KING COBRAS The king cobra like other cobras performs the famous threat display by pulling the ribs of the neck sideways and forward This flattens the neck into a hood Heiko Kiera Fotolia people each year than the other way around threatening Actually far more snakes are injured and killed by humans Cobras also have a flaring hood that makes them look killed people with their bite many consider the snake a danger to Answer Because cobras are poisonous and have occasionally 11
