A model presents a creation for Kenzo by Japanese fashion designer Tomoaki Nagao aka Nigo during Kenzo fashion show at the North Bund Bay in Shanghai on July 28, 2023. (Photo by Jade Gao/AFP Photo)

Giant panda Xiao Qi Ji plays at his enclosure at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, Thursday, September 28, 2023. (Photo by Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo)

A Wallcreeper (aka Tichodroma muraria) flies to a flower on January 28, 2024 in Leshan, Sichuan Province of China. (Photo by Zhou Zhiyong/VCG via Getty Images)

Partners Juliet Hockaday (22) and Sarah Poole (22) pose for a portrait at All Things Go on the first day of the music festival, on September 28, 2024 in Columbia, MD. (Photo by Maansi Srivastava for the Washington Post)

DJ Drama (R) arrives at America's Got Talent is seen on March 28, 2025 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Hollywood To You/Star Max/GC Images)

An attendee dressed as Winnie the Pooh talks with a member of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department during the annual pre-Halloween High Heel Race in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 28, 2025. (Photo by Nathan Howard/Reuters)

A woman wearing a raincoat collects a plastic bag near a beach as Typhoon Bualoi nears, in Nghe An province, Vietnam, on September 28, 2025. (Photo by Thinh Nguyen/Reuters)

Is it a leaf? Is it tree bark? No, it’s the Satanic leaf-tailed gecko. Cleverly disguised as a rotting leaf, Madagascar’s camouflage king has red eyes, pointy horns and a taste for night hunting: it’s nature’s most devilish deceiver. The twisted body and veiny skin echo the detail of a dry leaf, which ensures the gecko blends in with its forest home. The mottled tail appears to have sections missing, as though it has withered over time. This mini-monster epitomises survival of the fittest, having adapted gradually to become today’s extraordinary leaf impersonator. (Photo by Thomas Marent/ARDEA)