Chapter 1 WALKING STICKS Animals in the wild spend their lives hiding and seeking But for them it’s not a game It’s a matter of survival An animal that stands out draws attention to itself If it’s prey it might be more likely to become a meal If it’s a predator it will have a harder time catching enough to eat So how do animals hide Many of them use camouflage The natural world is a dangerous place for most animals What’s one way they survive 4 44
Camouflage helps an animal blend in or fool other animals The walking stick does both of these things extremely well This insect lives in wooded places and tropical forests It gets its name from its unusual appearance The bug looks like a brown or green stick with long twig-like legs The smallest walking stick could fit on your thumb The largest is a little bit longer than a ruler 5
Walking sticks make a filling meal for many predators That’s why birds reptiles spiders and mammals hunt for them But walking sticks can’t get away from these predators easily Walking sticks aren’t fast runners So they can’t race from danger They aren’t good fliers either Some walking sticks have such small wings that they can’t fly at all Others don’t even have wings That’s why their camouflage is so important IF A WALKING STICK DOESN’T BLEND IN IT COULD BECOME LUNCH 6
Fitting Right In During the day a walking stick often hides in the leaves of a tree Most of the time it barely moves By staying still the walking stick blends in with the tree Predators think the insect is a stick not food They pass right by the walking stick Walking sticks are active at night when the darkness hides them 7
