托福口语 Task 4

Today, we're going to talk about a fascinating concept in animal behavior: deceptive signaling. This is when an animal sends a signal that misleads another animal, usually for the benefit of the sender. The key point is that deception can be an effective survival strategy, even though it involves risk. Let me give you two examples. First, consider the mimic octopus. When it senses a predator like a lionfish, it can shape its body and move to imitate the lionfish's appearance and swimming style. This tricks the predator into thinking there's another dangerous lionfish nearby, so it backs off. The octopus gains protection without actually fighting. Second, think about the fork-tailed drongo, a bird in Africa. It often follows meerkats or other birds that find food. When they catch something, the drongo gives a false alarm call, like an eagle warning. The meerkats flee, leaving their food behind, and the drongo swoops in to eat it. However, if the drongo cries wolf too often, other animals start to ignore it, so it has to balance deception with reliability.