How Do Animals Survive? Discover Physical and Behavioral Adaptations!

You have already learned about Animal Classification and major animal groups. Now you will discover how animals have special features that help them survive. These special features are called adaptations.

There are two kinds of adaptations: physical adaptations (body parts) and behavioral adaptations (things animals do). Every animal you know has at least one adaptation that helps it stay alive.

A physical adaptation is a body part or feature an animal is born with that helps it live in its environment. You can see physical adaptations just by looking at an animal.

Here are some examples you should know:

• Webbed feet (duck) act like paddles to push through water when swimming
• Thick white fur (polar bear) keeps the bear warm and helps it blend into snow
• Quills (porcupine) sharp spines that protect the animal from predators
• Talons (eagle, owl) sharp curved claws that grip and catch prey
• Blubber (seal, whale) a thick layer of fat under the skin that keeps the animal warm in freezing water
• Long neck (giraffe) lets the giraffe reach leaves high up in tall trees
• Gills (fish) allow the fish to breathe oxygen found in water
• Large forward-facing eyes (owl) help the owl see very well in the dark to hunt at night
• Streamlined body (shark) torpedo shape helps the shark move through water quickly
• Hump (camel) stores fat that gives the camel energy when food is hard to find in the desert
• Long tail (monkey) helps the monkey grip branches and balance high in trees
• Large flat feet (snowshoe hare) spread the animal's weight so it can walk on top of deep snow
• Large ears (rabbit) collect sounds from far away so the rabbit can hear predators coming
• Seasonal fur change (arctic fox) white in winter to blend with snow, brown in summer to blend with rocks and plants

A behavioral adaptation is something an animal does to help it stay alive and safe. You cannot always see a behavioral adaptation you have to watch what the animal does.

Here are the most important behavioral adaptations you need to know:

• Hibernation when an animal goes into a deep sleep through winter to save energy when food is scarce (example: bears, frogs)
• Migration when animals travel to a warmer place to find food and survive cold weather (example: geese fly south, monarch butterflies travel thousands of miles)
• Mimicry when a harmless animal looks or acts like a dangerous animal to fool predators (example: a hoverfly looks like a wasp)
• Nocturnal behavior when animals are active at night to hunt safely in the dark (example: owls, bats)
• Playing dead when an animal pretends to be dead to trick a predator into leaving it alone
• Building a den when animals like foxes and bears build a safe, warm home for shelter
• Spraying when a skunk sprays a smelly liquid to scare away predators
• Echolocation when a bat sends out sound waves that bounce off objects to find prey in the dark
• Curling into a ball when a hedgehog hides its soft belly and shows only its sharp spines to protect itself
• Rattling when a rattlesnake shakes its tail to warn predators to stay away
• Flapping ears when elephants flap their big ears to cool down on hot days
• Tongue flicking when a snake flicks its tongue to smell the air and find food or sense danger

Camouflage is when an animal's color or pattern matches its surroundings so it can hide from predators. A deer's brown coat helps it blend into the forest. A stick insect looks exactly like a twig. A chameleon can change its skin color to match what is nearby.

Warning coloration is the opposite some animals use bright colors like red or orange to tell predators: "Stay away! I am poisonous or dangerous!" This is also called aposematism. Zebra stripes are another example scientists think the stripes make it hard for lions to pick out one zebra from a moving herd.

Adaptation: A special feature or behavior that helps an animal survive in its environment. You can think of it as nature's way of giving animals the tools they need to live.

Physical adaptation: A body part or feature an animal is born with that helps it survive, such as thick fur, webbed feet, or sharp claws.

Behavioral adaptation: Something an animal does to help it stay alive and safe, such as migrating, hibernating, or spraying a predator.

Camouflage: When an animal's color or pattern blends in with its surroundings so predators cannot easily see it. A stick insect looks like a twig that is camouflage.

Hibernation: When an animal goes into a very deep sleep during winter to save energy when food is scarce. Bears and frogs are examples of animals that hibernate.

Migration: When animals travel a long distance to a warmer place to find food and survive cold weather. Birds flying south in autumn is migration.

Mimicry: When a harmless animal looks or acts like a dangerous animal to fool predators. A hoverfly that looks like a wasp is using mimicry.

Echolocation: A behavioral adaptation used by bats they send out sound waves that bounce off objects to help them find prey in complete darkness.

Warning coloration: Bright colors on an animal's body that warn predators it is poisonous or dangerous. Bright red or orange patterns are common warning colors.

Blubber: A thick layer of fat under the skin of animals like seals and whales that keeps them warm in freezing cold water.

Quills: Sharp spines on a porcupine's body that stick into predators and protect the porcupine from attack.

Talons: The sharp, curved claws of birds like eagles and owls that are used to grip and catch prey.

Nocturnal: Active at night. Owls and bats are nocturnal animals they hunt and move around in the dark.

Predator: An animal that hunts and eats other animals. Adaptations often help animals escape from or defend against predators.

Streamlined: A smooth, torpedo-like body shape that helps animals like sharks move through water quickly and easily.

You can practice identifying adaptations by looking at animals around you. Ask yourself: "Is this a body part or something the animal does?" If it is a body part, it is a physical adaptation. If it is an action, it is a behavioral adaptation.

You can also explore Structural Adaptations and Behavioral Adaptations in more detail as your next steps in learning about how animals survive.

You have already studied External Features like body coverings, limbs, and sensory organs and Movement Types and how different animals move. Those topics help you understand why certain body parts are adaptations.

You also learned about Habitat Types and different environments and Basic Requirements like air, water, food, and shelter. Knowing what animals need helps you understand why they have certain adaptations. You also explored Parent-Offspring Relations, which shows you how adaptations are passed from parents to their young.

This topic connects to many other science ideas you are learning. Here is how they all fit together:

• Animal Groups and major animal classifications You need to know the different animal groups to understand which adaptations belong to which animals.
• Animal Life Cycles and various animal growth patterns Some adaptations change as an animal grows through its life cycle.
• Plant Adaptations and structural adaptations Just like animals, plants also have adaptations that help them survive. You can compare animal and plant adaptations.
• Metamorphic Life Cycles and Non-metamorphic Life Cycles The way an animal grows and changes is connected to the adaptations it develops.
• Environmental Changes and local ecosystem effects When environments change, animals may need different adaptations to survive.
• Communities and interaction between populations Adaptations affect how animals interact with each other and with other species in their community.
• Ecosystem Components including living and non-living elements Understanding ecosystems helps you see why certain adaptations are needed in certain places.