If, heaven forbid, you find yourself in a hunted situation by a human predator, one of the skills you will need to know is “how to camouflage yourself” to avoid detection.

Our brain is actually hardwired to know shapes specific to humans and will seek these shapes out.  Think about this.  You see a silhouette down the street in a dimly lit area.  Instantly you know it’s a person and not an animal.  

In a survival situation, should you find yourself being hunted, where you must hide to avoid detection, albeit in an ally or wooded area, or wherever, the concept is still the same.  You need to attempt to break-up your outline.  Again, going back to the way our brains work – we know a human has a head, two arms and two legs.  Think back to when you were a child and how you drew a person.  Children draw stick people by how their brains perceived them.  Stick people.  That’s right, a head, two arms and two legs.

You can do anything from sticking branches into your clothes to break up your silhouette (we’ve seen that numerous times by soldiers) to throwing a cover over your head. It is simply to break up our bodies outline and trick the predator’s eye.

Remember, Inspector Clouseau from the Pink Panther movies?  He was a master of blending in. (watch a few of the movies it will be both educational and yes entertaining.)  We see this principle used a lot in comedy but the bottom line is all the same “avoiding detection”.

Be creative - remember your hunter is looking for a specific shape.  Place an irregular object on your head if crouched behind something.  (yes, it may even be a trash can lid – we’re taking survival here not fashion.)

Some other tips you may use; try to reduce any shine from you skin or from any jewelry you may be wearing. Cover all areas of exposed skin, including face, hands, neck, and ears. Use whatever means you can - dirt, charcoal, grease or mud.  Use a darker color in areas that stick out more and catch more light (think military - forehead, nose, cheekbones, chin, and ears). Also, cover other areas, particularly recessed or shaded areas (around the eyes and under the chin), with lighter colors. Be sure to use an irregular pattern – again, kinda like you see the military guys do. (are you seeing a pattern here?).

There will be certain situations where all or any of this may be difficult to do, but if you are able, at least try to blend in with surrounding colors.  If you are wearing white you wouldn't hide behind something dark, try to find like colors.  Same holds true for textures and your surroundings. 

Here’s a little known fact, even our cowboys in days gone by wore camouflage.  The fringe on their leather jackets was made to help distort their shape. 

 As you can see this is not a new concept – its survival.

- Survivor Jane

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