COLORATION 83 



theorists is that the giraffe is concealed by its coloration. 

 (In reahty the giraffe is not concealed by anything.) The 

 advocates of the theory attribute this supposed invisibility 

 of the giraffe to its varied and mottled coat. They contrast 

 this "leaf and shadow pattern" with the elephant's dark 

 monochrome, which they admit not to be concealing — in- 

 deed it would puzzle even them to imagine any purpose 

 which would be served by having elephants concealingly 

 colored prior to the advent of rifles. They quote Samuel 

 Baker as testifying to the concealing effect of the giraffe's 

 coloration. But in his " Eight Years in Ceylon " Baker says 

 exactly the same thing about the elephant! All that he 

 really meant was that in the light and heavy jungles of 

 India and Africa he had often found even elephants and 

 giraffes difficult to make out, just as buffaloes and rhi- 

 noceroses in thick jungle are difficult to make out, just as 

 the beautifully colored and striped bongo and dark mono- 

 colored forest hog are equally difficult to see. 



It seems impossible to avoid the conclusion that in these 

 cases the different patterns of coloration have nothing to 

 do with concealing their wearers; the fact is simply that the 

 cover, the character of the landscape, the light, are such 

 that any animal is hard to see; and the coloration pattern 

 is of no effect one way or the other. Too much light, like 

 too little light, tends to make all coloration patterns look 

 alike, and, therefore, to deprive each one of any special 

 value. The giraffe spends most of its daylight hours in 

 bright sunlight, as does the zebra, for both live in dry, hot 

 climates. The glare of light in Africa and India is such 

 that all patterns of any intricacy or minuteness tend to 

 disappear under it. This is shown in the case of the Indian 



