Young animals. They are sweet, they are cute and they sometimes have very different colors than their parents. The latter has several reasons. The fry look cute, which makes them safer, or they have the same colors as the females, so the males don’t see them as a threat. Colors can also indicate a baby status in the group. They are usually intended as a camouflage. Some young animals do not need camouflage colors because they are hidden in caves or caves.
Cute
Especially in mammals and birds, the young are completely dependent on the care of their parents. In addition, they are extremely vulnerable, also for conspecifics. For this reason, many young animals look different from their parents. They have a relatively larger head with larger eyes. They are fluffy and sweet looking. Their colors can also look different. This is clearly visible in small pandas, young animals often have a ring around their eyes, which makes their eyes look bigger. This offers potential protection from other animals, although its effects are uncertain.
Born in a cave: no camouflage needed
Animals that spend their young life hidden in, for example, a cave or corridor system, do not need camouflage. African wild dogs are spotted with different colors. This provides good shelter. However, their young are almost completely black in the first weeks of their life and therefore less sheltered. The same is the case with hyenas. Only as soon as the animals are old enough to explore the environment, their camouflage color is revealed. A similar story plays out in birds. Young birds are often the first to get their down feathers. They are striking and white, without their adult plumage. That makes no difference, because the birds are still safe in their nest, where predators cannot see them.
Young and females are the same color
For example, in some species of gibbons, but also in some songbirds, the young animals look the same as the females. In these animals, the males are territorial. They do not accept other males in their vicinity, especially their females. Because the young looks like a female animal, the male does not see it as a threat. An additional advantage is that in gibbons the young can hide between the hairs of the mother. A mother with young ?? so weak animals in the group ?? are not recognized by predators. Songbirds with a complex song can learn this from each other, but a male does not want other birds to take over his song, because that would help the competition. However, the young male who has to learn the song looks like a female, so the adult male will not chase him away. If the young and the females are the same color, but it is different from the color of the males of this species, then the color is to deceive male. The males think they are dealing with a female and not a potential competitor. Only when the young is old enough to save itself or find another group does its color change. At that point, he is often quickly chased away.
Baby status
The young are easily recognizable in groups of chimpanzees. Not only because they are small, but also because of their lighter skin tone and the white plume ?? on the back of their back. The whole group knows that the animals with these characteristics have a separate status. They do not fight for a higher rank, but they do receive food from the whole group. The young have baby status, which they keep until they lose their white plumes. Along with this plume, many young chimpanzees also have a lighter face and lighter hands.
To hide
The most common reason why young animals have a different color from adults is to be able to hide better. Young roe deer have white spots, making them barely visible in thick undergrowth. The stripes on young wild boars have the same reason, as does the different color on ducklings and other water birds. Once the animals are older, they can better get around predators. For example, they can run or fly away in time, find strength in large numbers, or hide in other places, requiring different colors. At that moment, they have no use for the camouflage they had when they were young.
Young ducklings
Everyone knows the pictures. A mother duck with a large group of bright yellow ducklings behind it. In fact, the ducks are often yellow with brown, which gives them a good camouflage color in reeds or tall grass and of course in their nest. The real?? bright yellow ducklings also exist, but these are the result of breeding. White ducks lack a certain pigment. They pass this on to their young, who then do not get brown colors. Their yellow colors will come through, so they are exclusively yellow.
Dalmatians
Contrary to what the movie ?? 101 Dalmatians ?? shows, dalmatian puppies are stark white at birth. The first spots will appear in one or a few weeks. In fact, the puppies do have pigment, but they are still underdeveloped at the time of birth. The development of colors has not yet started, because they must be born as soon as possible. This is the case with more dogs and predators in general, the mother is better able to hunt without young in her belly. So in fact the same is going on here as with hyenas and African wild dogs, they don’t need their colors. One difference is that even when they grow up they don’t get any camouflage colors.