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Animal Adaptations Facts & Worksheets

Animal Adaptations are developments in an animal’s characteristics.

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Animal Adaptations are developments in an animal’s characteristics. These developments take place over a long period of time, but help the later generations thrive, survive, and carry on.

See the fact file below for more information on the animal adaptations or alternatively, you can download our 28-page Animal Adaptations worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

TYPES OF ADAPTATIONS

  • Structural Adaptations
    • When an animal develops a certain body part or structure that then aids in their day-to-day life, reproduction, and survival
  • Behavioral Adaptations
    • Developments in the manner an animal responds to a certain scenario to help itself thrive and survive in an ecosystem
  • Physiological Adaptations
    • Body processes an animal develops in order to facilitate its survival and reproduction

STRUCTURAL ADAPTATIONS

  • Webbed Feet
    • Helps animals propel themselves through the water with ease allowing them to swim faster. This allows them to be able to catch their prey or escape from a predator.
    • Webbed feet allows animals not to expend too much energy when they swim
    • Examples: Polar Bears, Ducks, Otters, Beavers
  • Sharp Claws
    • Helps herbivores in digging for berries, tubers, and roots
    • Carnivores use their claws to tear meat apart from their prey
    • Increases traction, increasing running speed
    • Examples: Bears, Harpy Eagles, Sloths, Koalas
  • Whiskers
    • Serve as sensors or feelers that helps an animal determine whether or not it will fit through a certain space.
    • Helps sense nearby prey
    • Examples: Tigers, Seals, Walruses, Beavers
  • Sharp teeth
    • Usually found in carnivores, sharp teeth allow for the piercing and tearing apart of prey.
    • Used as a weapon for self-defence
    • Symbol of power and dominance in a food chain
    • Examples: Lions, Coyotes, Alligators, Gorillas
  • Wings
    • Aid in movement. Usually, wings help birds fly to move from one place to another, but in some case wings serve as flippers that aid in swimming movements.
    • Examples: peregrine falcons, golden eagles, Penguins
  • Large Beak
    • Aids in capturing prey
    • Helps in the mastication of meat or plants
    • Examples: Toucans, Rhinoceros hornbill
  • Hooves
    • Observed in large animals
    • Allows animal to quickly maneuver through rocky, rough, and hot grounds without facing injury.
    • Examples: Zebras, Dall sheep
  • Striped Fur
    • Aids in camouflage
    • Examples: Tigers, Zebras, Chipmunks
  • Brightly colored feathers
    • Aids in camouflage against a backdrop of trees or flowers
    • Helps attract mates therefore aiding in reproduction
    • Examples: Peacocks.
  • Scales
    • Provide protection from environment and predators
    • Aids in mobility of an animal
    • Examples: Iguanas. Crocodiles
  • Spotted fur
    • Similar to striped fur, it aids in an animals blending in with its environment
    • Examples: Jaguar, Snow Leopard

BEHAVIOURAL ADAPTATIONS

  • 2 types of Behavioral Adaptations:
    • Innate: Also called instinctive behaviours. It is naturally done by an animal without it having to be taught to them.
    • Learned: behaviour that must be taught. It modifies itself through experience and exposure to the environment.
  • Migration
    • Periodic or seasonal migration/movement of animals from one habitat to another. It is done either as a response to changes in climate, availability of food, or for reproduction
    • Innate behavior.
    • Examples: whales, geese
  • Hibernation
    • a state of minimal activity and decreased levels of metabolic activity in order to save energy
    • Innate behavior.
    • Examples: bears, bats
  • Living with a group
    • Is a form of protection from predators
    • Movement and reproduction is easier to conduct
    • Innate behavior.
    • Examples: Fish, lions
  • Tool use
    • Use of surrounding objects (such as branches and rocks) for eating, building shelter, and defense
    • Learned behavior.
    • Examples: birds building nests, monkeys using rocks to open nuts
  • Raising young
    • Animals nurse their offsprings until they are ready to live as independently
    • Ensures continuation of species
    • Innate behavior.
    • Examples: Ducks, Elephants
  • Communicating
    • Allows for animals to call for help
    • Used as mating signals
    • Mixture of innate and learned behavior
    • Examples: Wolves, peacocks

PHYSIOLOGICAL ADAPTATIONS

  • Production and secretion of venom
    • Protect animals from their predators. Venom paralyzes and kills, but it also aids in digestion
    • Examples: Cobras, scorpions
  • Release of antifreeze proteins
    • Protects animals from extremely low body temperatures
    • Examples: Bears, Bats
  • Well-developed olfactory systems
    • Helps animals detect prey or predators within the proximity
    • Examples: Porcupines, Anteaters
  • Storing of fat/ Blubber
    • Regulates animals’, sea mammals in particular, body temperature
    • Examples: Whales, seals

Animal Adaptations Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the animal adaptations across 28 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Animal Adaptations worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the animal adaptations which are developments in an animal’s characteristics. These developments take place over a long period of time, but help the later generations thrive, survive, and carry on.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Animal Adaptations Facts
  • Word Bank
  • The Perfect Match
  • Word Search
  • You’re  Bluffing
  • Camel Panel
  • Group Up
  • Criss Cross
  • Differences
  • Spirit Animal
  • Compare and Contrast

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Link will appear as Animal Adaptations Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, August 3, 2021

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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