ANIMALS

Unit by Teresa Goodman

Animal Life Cycles

• Amphibians

• Insects

• Birds

Amphibians

• Begin as a fertilized egg.

• Becomes tadpole (larval stage)

• Legs sprout out and tail reduces in size.

• Eventually lose their tails altogether and leave the water.

Insects (butterflies)

• Begin as an egg.

• Become caterpillar or larva.

• Then, become the chrysalis or pupa.

• The adult or imago is the colorful butterfly at the end of the process.

Birds

• Born inside hard shell eggs where they are protected and kept warm by their parents. This is called incubation.

• After they hatch, they are fed by their parents.• They then develop flight feathers and learn how to

fly.• The next year, they will mate and the cycle will

begin again.

Animal Survival

• Adaptation-the ability of a species to survive in a particular environment through changes in form or behavior.

• Migration-movement or change.

Why Do Animals Adapt?• Animals depend on their physical

features to help them obtain food, keep safe, build homes, withstand weather, and attract mates. These physical features are called called physical adaptations. They makes it possible for the animal to live in a particular place and in a particular way.

• Each adaptation has been produced by evolution. This means that the adaptations have developed over many generations.

Examples of Animal Adaptation

• Camels live in the desert where the winds blow sand all around. So, they have long eyelashes and nostrils that can open and close.

• Giraffes have long necks that allow them to feed along treetops and spot predators.

Why Do Animals Migrate?

• Warm Weather

• More Food

• Mating Purposes

Examples of Animals that Migrate

• Birds fly south for the winter for warm weather and food.

• Antelope follow the green grass depending on precipitation and drought.

• Pacific Trout travel one long migration over the course of their lives for mating purposes.

Habitats

• The place where a person or thing is usually found.

Examples of Animal Habitats

• Polar Bears live in the Polar Arctic Area

• Manatees live in rivers, bays, canals, and estuaries.

• Yaks live in high elevations in China and India.

Various Animal Characteristics

• Polar Bears range from six and a half to eight and a half feet tall and five hundred to nine hundred pounds. They have black skin and are great swimmers.

• Manatees have seal like bodies with two limbs and four nails on each. They have grey brown wrinkled skin and fine hairs covering the rest of their body.

continued

• Yaks are long haired and bushy tailed. They have a long body with short and compact legs.

Types of Animals

• Wild Animal- a living creature that is not a plant and is untamed.

• Domestic Animal-animals that have been tamed and made fit for a human environment.

Examples of Wild Animals

• Lions

• Bears

• Tigers

• Monkeys

Examples of Domesticated Animals

• Dogs

• Sheep

• Cats

• Horses

Human Impact on Animals

• As human population continues to expand the conflicts between human habitat and animal habitat grow. 

• Large wide-ranging animals like wolves, bears and elephants are often the first to be impacted by declines in habitat quality and quantity.

Affects of Recreational Activities on Wildlife

• Examples: hiking, wildlife viewing, boating

• Influenced by type, duration, frequency, location, magnitude

• Physical changes to park environments increases abandonment and disturbance.

Short-Term Affects

Physiological responses in hormones, heart rate and stress

Changes in space and habitat use

Long Term Affects

• Survival or mortality rates

• Lack of species diversity

Three Primary Ways to Protect Animals

• Habitat Conservation-land management practice that seeks to protect and restore animal habitats.

• Species Focused Conservation-seeks to protect a particular species.

• Ecosystem Conservation-protecting a group of plants, animals and micro-organisms that work together in an environment with non-living factors

What Can We Do to Protect Animals?

• Recycle and reduce energy- recycle plastic bottles and paper, unplug appliances when not in use, and turn off lights when not in use. This reduces our reliance on natural resources.

• Place decals on windows to deter bird collisions.

• Leave habitats untouched.

Works Cited

• www.animalinfo.org.• www.desert.usa.com.• www.georgewright.org.• www.schools.manatee.k2.fl.us.• www.thinquest.org.• www.wisegeek.com.• www.woodlandsjr.kent.sch.uk.com.• www.worldvillage.com.• www.pics4learning.com.