An animal in the wild spends much of its time either finding its next meal (another animal) or avoiding being dinner for someone else. It’s a battle for survival — if it can’t fight back or make a quick escape then hiding is the next best protection. Some animals are camouflaged — they blend into their surroundings so that they are hard to detect. Others prevent an attack by “dressing up” — looking like a dangerous or poisonous species so that predators (animals that want to eat them) will avoid them. This form of hiding is called mimicry; the animal looks the same as a different species. The animal’s “costume ” given to it by Hashem hides its true identity and protects it.

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