Adaptations in Animals PDF

# 3 Adaptations in Animals ## Chapter 3 - Adaptations in Animals **Warm-Up** Write the names of four basic needs of an animal to survive. 1. **Shelter** 2. **Water** 3. **Food** 4. **Air (Oxygen)** The image shows a lion in the middle with arrows around it. Each arrow points to a pict...

# 3 Adaptations in Animals ## Chapter 3 - Adaptations in Animals **Warm-Up** Write the names of four basic needs of an animal to survive. 1. **Shelter** 2. **Water** 3. **Food** 4. **Air (Oxygen)** The image shows a lion in the middle with arrows around it. Each arrow points to a picture, each representing one needs of an animal to survive: * **Shelter:** A cave with an opening * **Water:** A river with a mountain in the background * **Food:** A piece of red meat * **Air (Oxygen):** A forest scene with tall trees and some with green leaves ## Adaptations in Animals Like plants, animals are found everywhere on the earth. Some animals live on land, some live in water, some in deserts and some in cold regions. The place where an animal lives is known as its **habitat**. The living conditions in these habitats are very different from each other. The conditions which decide the habitat of the animals are soil, moisture, range of temperature, light intensity and availability of food. Animals develop special features which help them to survive, grow and adjust to the surroundings and these are termed as **adaptations**. ## Adaptations for Habitats According to their habitats, animals are divided into five groups. These groups are terrestrial, aquatic, amphibians, aerial and arboreal animals. ### Terrestrial Animals Animals that live on land are called terrestrial animals. Human beings, deer, cow, goat, giraffe and tiger are some examples of terrestrial animals. Such animals have legs to move and lungs to breathe. They have sense organs which help them to look for food and shelter and to escape from enemies. Animals like deer and zebra that eat grass are found in the forests. They have strong legs which help them to walk long distances. They can also run fast to escape from their enemies. ### Desert Animals All the animals that live in dry land are known as desert animals. They adapt themselves with low content of water and very high temperature, e.g. camel. The camel is known as the "ship of the desert'. Adaptations of the camel are: * It has thick skin which protects it from the heat of the sun. * It can live 10-12 days without taking water and food. * Its hump us a reservoir of fat. So, when the camel does not get food, it can still survive.. * The broad pads on the bottom of its feet prevent it from sinking into the soft sand of desert. Animals that live in cold places have thick fur on their skin to protect them from cold. Some of them are white in colour and merge with their surroundings to escape from enemies. e.g. polar bear and reindeer. Snakes do not have legs and move (crawl) with the help of scales on lower surface of their bodies. These scales also help them from drying up in the hot weather. ### Aquatic Animals Animals that live in water are known as aquatic animals (aqua means water). Fish, prawns and crabs are some examples of aquatic animals. Most of them have gills to breathe. e.g. fish, snails, turtles and crabs. Fish breathe through gills and they take dissolved oxygen from water. These animals have fins or limbs to move and have streamlined body. Some aquatic animals like whales and dolphins do not have gills but have lungs to breathe. So they come up to the water surface to take oxygen. ### Amphibians The animals that live both on land and in water are known as amphibians. Frogs, toads and salamanders are some examples of amphibians. They have lungs to breathe when they are on land and when they are in water, they breathe through their moist skin. Their limbs are also adapted for swimming. ### Aerial Animals Animals that fly in air are called aerial animals. e.g. birds and insects are some examples of aerial animals. Birds have wings to fly. Their bones are hollow, which make them light and their body shape also help them to fly easily in air. Sparrow, pigeon and crow are some examples of birds. Some birds have strong legs but they cannot fly and are called flightless birds. e.g. kiwi, ostrich. Many insects beat their wings rapidly. As the wings push down on the surrounding air, the force of the air on the wings helps the insect up. Dragonfly and moth are some of the examples of insects which can fly. Bats are the only mammals which fly in the air. ### Arboreal Animals Animals that spend most of their time on trees are called arboreal animals. e.g. monkeys, squirrels, chameleon and some insects.. Long limbs and tails of these animals help them to climb and hang from branches and jump from branch to branch of the trees. Forelimbs of a squirrel help it to hold food and put it in the mouth. ## Adaptations for Food Different animals eat different types of food. According to their food habits, animals can be classified as herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, parasites and scavangers. ### Herbivores Animals that eat plants are called herbivores or plant-eating animals. * They have sharp and flat front teeth for biting and cutting the leaves. Their teeth in the inner side of the mouth help in chewing the grass or leaves. e.g. cow, sheep buffaloes, deer and goats are some examples of herbivores. * Elephants and giraffes also eat leaves of the trees. Elephants have strong teeth which allow them to eat twigs and sugarcane plants. They have long and strong legs which help them to travel long distances in search of food. * Long neck of giraffe helps it to reach leaves of the tall plants. ### Carnivores Animals that eat flesh of other animals are known as Carnivores or flesh-eating animals. Tigers and lions are some examples of carnivores. * They have strong legs that help them to run fast and catch their prey. They have strong claws to catch and hold on to their prey. * They have long pointed curved front teeth and strong grinding teeth which help them to tear and eat the flesh. * Birds like hawks and eagles have sharp beaks to tear the flesh. They also have strong claws called talons to catch and tear their prey. ### Omnivores Animals that eat both plants and animals are called omnivores. Crows, cockroaches, ants, cats and bears are some examples of omnivores. Human beings also are omnivores. ### Scavangers Animals that eat dead animals are known as scavengers. e.g. vulture and hyena. Animals like hyena have broad and strong teeth, while birds like vulture have strong hooked and curved beak. They also have strong sense of smell and excellent eyesight. They help to keep the forests clean. ### Parasites Animals that depend on other animals for their food are called parasites. e.g. leeches, lice, mosquitoes, bedbugs, roundworm and tapeworm are some examples of parasites. The animals on which parasites depend for their food are called hosts. The animals which live on the body of their hosts are called external parasites. Lice, leech, mosquitoes and bedbugs are some examples of external parasites. Internal parasites live in the body of the host. A roundworm lives in the intestine of human beings, whereas a tapeworm lives in the body of dogs and pigs. All parasites cause harm to their hosts. ## Adaptations for Protection Every animal has to protect itself from its enemies and from its surroundings. Animals have developed various ways to protect themselves. * Deer and kangaroo escape from their enemies because of their speed and swiftness. * A rat runs away when a cat chases it. * Rabbits, hares and rats make burrows deep into the soil to escape from enemies like eagles, owls, foxes and cats. * Whales, elephants and hippos protect themselves from other animals by their big size. * Polar bear is difficult to locate in snow because of its white colour. * Chameleon (girgit) can change its colour to match its surroundings . This is called camouflage. * Tigers and zebras have stripes on their bodies which help them to merge with their surroundings usually in long grass and plants of the forests. * The leaf insect looks like a leaf, while the stick insect looks like the twig of a plant. Their colours and shapes merge so well with the surroundings that it is very difficult for the enemy to detect their presence. * Sharp and pointed quills of porcupines protect them from their enemies. * Tortoises and snails have shells on their bodies. Whenever they face any danger, they go into their shells. * A cuttle fish has ink sacs on its body. Whenever it faces danger, it releases ink into the water which makes the water around it blue in colour. The fish swims away to the safer place as the enemy is unable to see it. * Regular movement of some birds and animals in large numbers to escape from unfavourable conditions during a particular time of the year is known as migration. e.g. Siberian crane comes to India every year in winters. ## Amazing Fact * Puff fish can escape from shark fish by puffing up like a balloon. This makes the sharp spines on its body to stand out, so that the shark cannot eat or swallow the puff fish. * The Arctic Tern is the greatest migratory Bird. Every year it flies 30,000km from Arctic to Antarctic region and back. * European eels swim all the way to the Sargasso Sea of Atlantic Ocean to lay eggs. The baby eels then take three years to swim back to European rivers. ## Flowchart **Adaptations in Animals** **Adaptations for Habitats** * Terrestrial * Aquatic * Amphibians * Aerial * Arboreal **Adaptations for Food** * Herbivores * Carnivores * Omnivores * Scavangers * Parasites **Adaptations for Protection** * Living Place * Appearance * Size * Migration ## Quick Scroll * Animals can be grouped into five categories on the basis of their habitat-terrestrial, aquatic, amphibian, aerial and arboreal. * Animals that live on the land are called **terrestrial** animals. * Some animals hibernate to escape the **harsh** conditions. * Animals that live in water are called **aquatic** animals. * Animals that fly in air are called **aerial** animals. * Animals that live on trees are called **arboreal** animals. * Animals that live both on land and water are called **amphibians**. * According to their feeding habits, animals are classified into the herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, scavengers and parasites. * Animals protect themselves by running fast, making burrows, going into the shells and camouflaging, i.e. changing their colour to match their surroundings. * Animals move from place to place in search of food and protection. * Migratory animals are those animals that migrate to some other place temporarily. ## Glossary * **Habitat:** Living and dwelling place. * **Adaptation:** Special features developed in an organism to adjust to surroundings. * **Hibernation:** Winter sleep of animals. * **Aestivation:** Summer sleep of animals. * **Aquatic Animals:** Animals that live in water. * **Amphibians:** Animals that live both on land and in water. * **Camouflage:** Way in which some animals escape from their enemies by merging with their surroundings (by changing their colour or by changing their body shape). * **Migration:** The movement of animals from one place to another in search of food and water or to avoid unfavourable conditions. * **Herbivores:** Animals that eat only grass, leaves or vegetables. * **Carnivores:** Flesh eating animals. * **Omnivores:** Animals that eat both green plants and flesh of animals. * **Scavangers:** Animals that feed on dead animals. * **Parasites:** Animals that depend on other animals for food. * **Hosts:** Organisms from which parasites derive their food.