Animals Animal patterns Most animals, like zebras, leopards and crocodiles, have unique patterns on their hides to camouflage them in their natural environments Tessellating patterns When the same shapes fit together without leaving any spaces in between, we say they tessellate. Floor and wall tiles, or bricks, tessellate. The Nile crocodile has hard bony scales or plates on its back that are connected to each other and move as the crocodile moves. The plates cannot grow, so as the animal gets bigger, it sheds its old skin and grows a new one.
Some patterns are interesting because they are unique.
If something is unique it is the only one of its kind. Although it looks as if zebras' stripes are all the same, no two zebras share exactly the same pattern. Stripes can save your life if you are a zebra. It is difficult for lions to single out one zebra in a herd. When all the zebras move, the stripes become confusing to the lions.