Education

Wildlife Adventures
Animal Adaptations (Grades 3-5)

Summary An investigation of adaptations that help animals survive. Students learn about carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores, and the specialized body parts to help them eat specific kinds of food.
Introduction Over time animals have developed adaptations that help them to survive. Today we are going to look at structural adaptations of animals.
A structural adaptation is a physical feature of an animal such as a bobcat's claws or a deer's long legs. These features are a part of the animal's body structure and help it to survive. Sharp claws help the bobcat catch other animals to eat. Long legs help the deer run quickly to escape from predators.
Tell the students that we are going to look at five structural adaptations and write each one on the blackboard:
1. Food- getting mouth parts
2. Strong feet, claws, and webbed feet
3. Sharp senses
4. Coloration
5. Defenses
Food-getting mouth parts

Most meat-eating animals are predators that hurt and kill other animals for food. These animals rely a great deal on strong jaws and sharp teeth or beaks to help them catch and hold prey animals. These sharp teeth, called canines, are used for piercing and holding onto meat.
Plant-eating animals need teeth that are good at chopping and crushing plant material. These animals have either small, pointy teeth for chopping or large flat teeth for crushing and grinding.
Strong feet, Claws, and Webbed feet Many predator animals have strong, muscular feet with sharp claws to help them catch and hold their prey animals.
Webbed feet are another important foot adaptation for animals that spend a lot of time in the water. Having webbing between the toes helps to swim quickly through water.
Sharp Senses Many animals are equipped with especially sharp senses to help them to survive.
A sharp sense of vision is very important to predator animals that must use their eyes to hunt for food. The eyes of all the predators are located on the front of the head. This allows the animal to have very accurate eyesight. For example, the golden eagle has eight times the vision we do and can find a small prey animal on the ground while flying high up in the air.
A good sense of hearing is another important sense to many animals. For example, deer have large ears that can rotate to pick up sounds around them. A deer's sensitive ears help it to hear predators that may be trying to sneak up on it.
A keen sense of smell is important to a predator as well as prey animals. Lions use their keen sense of smell to pick up the scent of prey animals. They can often smell a prey animal before they see it. Prey animals, such as the woodchuck and deer, will often stop what they are doing to sniff the air around them for signs of predators.
Coloration The color and pattern of coloration on an animals body often helps it to blend into its surrounding. This camouflage helps animals hide. For example, bright green iguanas blend well with the green leaves of their tropical forests.

Ask the students if they can name any other animals with good camouflage.
For example, the brown color of prairie dogs and woodchucks help them to blend into the soil around their burrows in the ground.
For example, the spotted coverings of animals such as the bobcat and the salamander help them to blend into their shadowy forest home.
Defenses Many animals have special adaptations that help them defend themselves. Deer and rabbits have especially long legs that help them to run very quickly away from predators. Some animals, such as the hedgehog and the porcupine, have sharp spines. Other animals have very noticeable defenses. The deer and other animals such as moose and elk use their antlers for protection against predator animals. Antlers are made entirely of bone and they are branched and very sharp. Sheep, cattle, and goats use their horns for protection. A horn has a core of bone arising from the skull covered by hardened skin.
Activity Pass out the fox, kestrel, and woodchuck picture page and list these three animals on the blackboard. Together with the students, list the adaptations for each animal and write them on the board.
Fox, Kestrel, Woodchuck pictures Fox, Kestrel, Woodchuck drawings
Fox Adaptations:
- Strong legs for catching food or running to escape enemies.
- Sharp, pointed teeth for tearing and slicing meat.
- Bushy tail for keeping warm while sleeping.
- Camouflage coloration for hiding from enemies or hunting prey.
Kestrel Adaptations:
- Sharp beak for tearing and eating meat.
- Long, narrow wings for fast flight.
- Long eyes to see wide areas.
- Camouflage coloration for hiding from enemies or hunting prey.
  Woodchuck Adaptations:
- Eyes, ears and nose top of the head for peeking out of burrow to look for predators.
- Extra body fat and thick fur for keeping warm during the winter.
- Long claws and strong feet for digging.
- Long whiskers and large nose for finding food and sensing danger.
- Small ears for keeping the dirt out when traveling underground.
- Chisel- like front teeth for eating hard plant parts.
Vocabulary

So far, we have been saying meat-eating and plant-eating animals. There are actually special names for these animals.
Carnivore: An animal that eats mostly meat. (wolf, eagle, and snake)
Herbivore: An animal that eats mostly plants. (deer, parrots, iguanas)
Omnivore: an animal that eats fairly equal amounts of both plants and meat. (turtle, man)
Putting It Together

Explain to the students that they will be researching an idea for a new restaurant where the customers will be turtles, tigers, and parrots.

Divide the class into smaller groups of three to four people. Each group will be planning its own menu for the restaurant and its customers. The first assignment is to find out as much as they can about the animal's special adaptations. Second, the group must determine what types of food each animal eats. Finally, the group must come up with a food menu for the restaurant. Here is an example to be written on the blackboard:

Rabbit Rations
Appetizer: Fruit (grapes)
Entrees: Alfalfa and cloves (salad with alfalfa sprouts), Vegetables (corn, carrots, beans)
Dessert: Grass (green coconut on cupcakes)

After students have completed the activity, ask one person from each group to present their menu to the class.

 

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