3rd Class General Knowledge Community Eating Notes - Animals

Animals

Interesting Facts

•          Whales come to the surface regularly to breath.

Animals

•           Move from one place to another in search of food and shelter and to protect themselves from the enemies.
•           Animals depend on plants for their food.
•           Animals living on land breathe with the help of nose and lungs and those living in water breathe with the help of gills.
•           Animals have sense organs to detect changes in the environment and to respond accordingly.

CLASSIFICATION OF ANMALS

Terrestrial animals are those that live on the land, either completely or mostly inside burrows; below the surface. 'terre' means earth and terrestrial means ? of the earth?. Terrestrial animals have various features that enable them to live on land. They have legs to walk. They have well- developed sense organs. Their claws and teeth are very sharp which enables them to catch and eat their prey. For example: Rabbit, Cow, Kangaroo, Cat, Dog, Camel.

Interesting facts

•          Fruit bats and flying foxes are examples of frugivores.
•          Bears are the members of the carnivore order, but they are omnivores.
•          Omnivores like chickens, have no teeth and swallow their food whole

An aerial animal is any creature that spends time in the air typically in flight. Their bones are light and hollow to make their movement easy in the air. They fly with the help of wings For example, birds and insects.

Birds have feathers, a beak and no teeth. They eat fruit, nuts plants, seeds, nectar and various small animals. Do you know that birds also talk to each other and also give signals to their friends? You must have heard the voices of parrots, crows and cuckoos. Some parrots (Macaw) are known to copy our voices.

You must have seen many flies, mosquitos, ants, wasps and grasshoppers at various places in your surroundings. These are all insects. Insects are the most diverse groups of animals on earth. They are found in nearly all environments. Some of these insects can crawl, for example, ants, some can fly, for example, bees and wasps. Have you ever been stung by a wasp? The wasp sting is very painful. You should immediately rush to the doctor in such cases.

Arboreal animals live and dwell in trees. These animals consider trees to be their home base and find shelter, food and protection from the branches. For example. Monkey Lizards etc.

Aquatic animals live in water. They have streamlined body which helps them to swim easily in water. They have gills as breathing organs. For example. Fish. Whales are also aquatic but they have lungs for breathing.                   

Amphibians are a class of animals that spend part of their life on land and part in water. They breathe through their moist skin when in water and through lungs when on and. For example, Frogs.

ANIMALS CAN BE FURTHER DIVIDED INTO

Pet Animals: Pets are the animals that people keep in or around their homes. They include dogs, cats, rabbits and various species of fishes and birds.

Domestic or Farm Animals; Domestic animals are the animals that people keep in their farms or factories for their fur, feathers, milk or meat or perhaps for transportation. They include farm animals, such as cattle, horses, sheep, chickens, bullocks, elephants, etc. Some insects, such as bees and silk moths are also domesticated.

Wild Animals: Wild animals are those who live in jungle. These animals are naturally ferocious, unpredictable and dangerous. If they are captured and put in a zoo, they become zoo animals. For example, lion and tiger.

ANOTHER WAY TO CATEGORIZE ANIMALS

1.            Herbivorous animals are those that mostly feed on grasses, leaves and grains. They have flat, broad, front teeth to cut the leaves and grasses and chew the food with the help of strong back teeth. Some examples are cow, sheep and camel.

2.            Carnivorous animals are those animals that hunt and eat other animals for food. Carnivores have long, sharp pointed front teeth for tearing and ripping flesh. Some examples are lion, tiger, leopard, etc.

3.            Omnivorous animals eat both plants and meat. Some examples are human beings, crow, bear, etc.

4.            Parasites: There are one more group of animals like bacteria, virus, protozoa, etc. Some of them live inside or on the bodies of other animals and obtain its food from them. They are called parasites.

5.            Scavengers: Animals that feed on flesh of dead animals rather than hunting fresh meat for themselves are called scavengers.

ADAPTATION

Adaptations are special characteristics and mechanisms that animals have developed over the years to help them survive in a particular environment.

Few examples of the basic adaptations that help the creatures survive are:

•        shape of a bird's beak,
•        the number of fingers.
•        colour of the fur,
•        the thickness or thinness of the fur,
•        the shape of the nose or ears

SOME INTERSTING ADAPTATIONS

•           Jellyfishes use tentacles to move around.
•          An elephant's trunk is like a hand. It is used for bringing food into the mouth, drinking water, getting foliage from tall trees, etc. The trunk is an elongated nose.
•          The porcupine's sharp quills are hardened hair and are used for protection against predators.
•           Polar bear have thick layer of fat inside their skin and fur to provide warmth to the body.

Interesting Facts

•          The giraffes tongue can stretch up to 46 cm to gather leaves from the tall trees.
•         Hibernation is an adaptation that helps many animals conserve energy by remaining inactive, greatly slowing their metabolism and rescuing their body temperature.