How do animals develop camouflage, when they don’t know what other animals see?

Question

I’ve always admired the patterns of tigers, leopards, mantis shrimp, butterflies, etc. But I’ve always wondered how and why they become like that.

In: 6

Answer 1

Evolution is not a conscious decision. Several small animals, from one species but still a bit different, try to hide from a predator. It notices one of them first (the one that is the most conspicious to it), catches it, eats and leaves, less conspicious ones (the ones that can hide better or are just camouflaged better against that predator) survive and procreate. Repeat that for 1000s of generations, and you’ve got a camouflage.