In the sentence Camouflage is one way animals protect themselves, the pronoun themselves is an example of which type of pronoun?

Introduction / Context:
This grammar question tests your understanding of reflexive and intensive pronouns. English uses forms like myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, and themselves in two related ways. In the sentence Camouflage is one way animals protect themselves, you must decide whether themselves is reflexive or intensive based on how it functions in the clause.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The full sentence is Camouflage is one way animals protect themselves.
• The subject of the verb protect is animals.
• The pronoun themselves comes after the verb protect and refers back to animals.
• We assume standard definitions of reflexive and intensive pronouns used in school grammar.

Concept / Approach:
A reflexive pronoun is used when the subject and the object of a verb are the same. It reflects the action back onto the subject, as in They hurt themselves or She taught herself. An intensive pronoun has the same forms but is used only for emphasis, and can usually be removed without changing the basic meaning, as in The president himself attended the meeting. In our sentence, animals protect themselves means that animals perform the action and also receive it. If we remove themselves, the sentence becomes Camouflage is one way animals protect, which is incomplete in sense. This shows that themselves functions as a necessary object and is therefore reflexive, not merely intensive.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify the subject of the verb protect. It is animals.Step 2: Identify the word that receives the action of protect. It is themselves.Step 3: Notice that both the subject animals and the object themselves refer to the same group of animals.Step 4: Recall that in such cases we use a reflexive pronoun to show that the action comes back to the subject.Step 5: Check whether themselves can be removed as mere emphasis. Without it, the sentence does not clearly state what animals protect, so it is not just emphasis. Therefore, themselves is a reflexive pronoun.

Verification / Alternative check:
Compare with clear examples. In The child dressed herself, herself is reflexive because the child performs and receives the action. In The child herself opened the door, herself is intensive because it simply stresses that the child, and not someone else, opened the door. If you remove herself from the second sentence, it still makes sense. In our sentence, removing themselves makes the clause incomplete, just as in They protect would feel incomplete without an object. This comparison confirms that themselves in the question sentence is reflexive.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option B intensive would be correct only if themselves were used purely for emphasis and could be dropped without changing the core meaning. That is not true here. Option C both A and B is incorrect because a single use of the word cannot be both reflexive and intensive at the same time; its function in the sentence decides the type. Option D none of the above fails because the word clearly belongs to the reflexive or intensive set and, as we have shown, functions reflexively.

Common Pitfalls:
Students often learn the list of reflexive pronouns but forget that the same forms are called intensive when used for emphasis. The key trick is to test whether the pronoun is necessary to complete the meaning of the sentence. If it is necessary as an object of the verb, it is reflexive. If it only adds emphasis and can be removed, it is intensive. Using this test in exams will help you classify such pronouns correctly.

Final Answer:
In the sentence given, themselves is a Reflexive pronoun, so option A is correct.