Transcript Animal Adaptations - Learning Is a Hoot!

Animal Adaptations
Created by Susan Warren
Purpose
• To understand what animal
adaptations are
• To explain why animal adaptations
are important
• To explain different types of
animal adaptations and how they
serve different animals
Adaptation
• A body part, body covering,
or behavior that helps an
animal survive
• Example- A shark has fins
and a streamlined body that
helps it swim through the
water. It has gills which take
in oxygen from the water.
They also have lots of sharp
teeth. If a shark’s tooth falls
out, it is replaced very
quickly.
Behavior
• The actions of an animal
• Example-Raccoons usually live in the forests making their home
in trees and eat everything from berries to fish. They usually
come out at night which means they are nocturnal. Many times,
a raccoon’s natural habitat, the forest, gets destroyed by humans
building new homes and businesses. The raccoon has adapted to
this change by finding homes in people’s houses in places like
attics and storage sheds. They also rummage through trashcans
for food.
Camouflage
• A color or shape in an
animal’s body covering that
helps it blend into its
environment
• Example- The arctic fox has
a brown coat in summer so
it can blend into the
environment, but in winter,
its coat turns white so it will
math the snow
surroundings.
Environment
• Everything that surrounds
and affects a living thing
• The environment includes
non-living things like water
and air, as well as living
things like trees and other
animals.
• Example- ponds, forests,
oceans, jungles
oceans
jungles
ponds
forests
Habitat
• The place where an
animal lives
• The physical
characteristics of an
animal’s surroundings
• Example- A clown fish’s
environment would be
the ocean, but his
habitat would be where
he lives…a sea
anemone.
Instinct
• An inborn behavior
• A behavior an animal is born
with and does not have to
learn
• Example- A bear hibernates
in winter. This means they go
into a deep sleep. There food
supplies are not as plentiful
in winter so they sleep and
live off their stored fat. They
know to do this, they don’t
have to be taught. It is an
instinct, not a learned
behavior.
Mimicry
• An adaptation in which
an otherwise harmless
animal looks like a
harmless animal in
order to protect itself
• An animal could use
mimicry also to hide or
blend into its
surroundings.
• Example- Camo Moth,
South African Speckled
Emperor Moth
This Camo Moth looks like a leaf.
This South African speckled
emperor moth has “eyespots” on its
wings to make it look like a large
animal.
Predator
• An animal that hunts and
eats other animals for food
• There are different types of
predatory behaviors like
ambush, stalking, all of
which rely on keen eyesight,
sense of smell, speed, agility
and sharp body parts.
Often, predatory animals
hunt in packs.
• Example- These wolves hunt
in a pack. One wolf by itself
could never take down this
large animal.
Prey
• An animal that is taken
and eaten by another
animal (predator) for
food
• Smaller predators, such
as mice and lizards can
be, and often are, prey
for larger predators
• Example- This barn owl
(the predator) has
caught a mouse (the
prey) for a meal.
Survive/Survival
• Using adaptations to continue
to live
• Examples- Some smaller desert
animals burrow below the
surface of the soil or sand to
escape the high temperatures
at the desert surface. The
enormous ears of jackrabbits,
with their many blood vessels,
release heat when the animal
is resting in a cool, shady
location. Their relatives in
cooler regions have much
shorter ears.