Introduction Sometimes it’s fun to play a trick on someone People play tricks to be funny Other times tricks can be more serious Think about a spy who wears a disguise Spies have to pretend to be people they aren’t If their disguise doesn’t work they could be arrested or even killed Animals play tricks too But they aren’t trying to be funny Animals play tricks to stay alive Just like a spy who wears a disguise some animals know that if they can fool other animals they can survive another day Animal tricks can be sneaky and very strange But they help animals find food or protect them from enemies We’ve put together a list of the Top Ten Animal Tricksters See why these animals are the sneakiest creatures on Planet Earth 4
And the Winners Are Here are our choices for the Top 10 Animal Tricksters Turn the pages to find out more about each of these sneaky creatures 10 The Leaf Fish 9 The Orchid Mantis 8 The Opossum 7 The Margay 6 The Alcon Blue Butterfly 5 The Cuckoo Finch 4 The Mimic Octopus 3 The Fork-Tailed Drongo 2 The Assassin Bug 1 The Puppeteer Spider 9 6 3 5
10 The Leaf Fish What could be more harmless than a leaf A leaf can’t attack anything or eat anything right Well a leaf may be harmless but the leaf fish definitely is not This fish disguises itself as a leaf to fool its prey Leaf fish live in rivers and lakes in South America Its flat brown-green body makes it look just like a leaf drifting along underwater Special fins on the fish’s body help it keep its place in the water Everything looks safe and peaceful until a shrimp or a small fish swims by Suddenly the leaf fish’s long jaw shoots out and grabs its prey In seconds the leaf fish has swallowed the other animal in one big bite 6
Tricky Fact Tricky Fact A leaf fish can eat its own body weight in food every day The leaf fish is about three inches 7 6 cm long 7
