This week, Mrs. Yollis' class is learning about animal adaptations.
An adaptation is a body part or behavior that helps a living thing survive in its environment.
For example, a giraffe's long neck helps it reach the leaves in high trees on the savannas of Africa.
The giraffe's neck is a physical adaptation.
An antelope squirrel stays cool during the hot desert day by staying in its underground burrow. This is an example of a behavioral adaptation.
Snowshoe Hare: Habitat and Adaptations on PhotoPeach
Many animals have physical or behavioral adaptations. For example, polar bears of the Arctic can
run on the ice without slipping.
To learn about the polar bear's physical adaptation, click here!
Here is a fun animal adaptation quiz!
Here is a fun animal adaptation quiz!
********
Use the Online World Book Encyclopedia to research an animal of your choice.
Take notes about two to three adaptations. Be sure to include the animal's habitat. Do they live in the ocean? If so, what zone? Are they desert dwellers?
Write a comment as if you are that animal.
Tell us about two or three of your adaptations!
What makes your adaptations so useful?
Use HTML code to bold the facts!
Posts
Dear Mrs. Yollis' students,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Bucky Beaver, and I live in a freshwater pond in the woods. I am very busy right now. Actually beavers are busy all the time! We are known for being quite industrious! (I'm quite proud of my industriousness! I'm busy, busy, busy!)
I have a few moments to spare, and I want to use that time to share two important physical adaptations I have, my teeth and my big flat tail.
Chew, chew, chew...that's what I do! I use my front teeth to chop down trees, and then I use the trees to make a dam and my lodge. My lodge is my home where I have a family, and we raise our little kits.
My tail is my other physical adaptation. It's so useful! First, I can use it as a rudder to guide me through the water! In addition, when I'm using my sharp teeth to gnaw down a tree, I can use my black scaly-skinned tail to help me balance!
On no! I just heard my eldest son hit the pond with his flat tail. That's a beaver alert! I've got to swim!
Have a beautifully busy day!
Bucky Beaver
@ Buck Beaver,
DeleteI have not heard of Bucky Beaver, but I do know a canine called Buck. Are you related to him in some kind of way?
Oh! I completely forgot to introduce myself. I am Rocky Rattlesnake. You may have heard of Rocky the dog, but I am a real rattlesnake that slithers on the keyboard to type. I, too, am extremely busy sliding on the ground trying to find my prey. This is supposed to be my hunting time, but I am going to spend some time with you, Bucky Beaver.
I am a poisonous snake that belong to the pit viper group and are recognized by the distinctive rattle on the end of our tail. Most species of rattlers have hemotoxic venom that attacks tissues and destroys them. The Mojave rattlesnake, which I am, also has a neurotoxin in its venom making it the most dangerous of all the species of rattlesnakes. All of us live in the Western Hemisphere from southern Canada to Argentina. Many inhabit the dry region of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. These include the horned rattlesnake, or sidewinder, and the ridge-nosed rattlesnake. The eastern diamondback rattlesnake, pygmy rattlesnake, and timber rattlesnake inhabit the eastern United States. The northern Pacific rattlesnake lives from southwestern Canada to southern California. One species, the neotropical rattlesnake, occurs from southwestern Mexico to Argentina. So, whenever you see one of me, BEWARE!
By the way, I am interested in your name. Can I call you Buck Beaver as a nickname? I want to call you that because my old pal Buck never chats with me anymore. As a memorial for Buck, please say "Yes, you can call me Buck Beaver."
Ugg... You chew trees? Why would you do that? I eavesdropped on a very smart person named Mrs. Yollis, and she said that she gets wood from Home Depot. Take my suggestion an go there! It would be a much easier way to get wood, although it cost little green leaf like things. Does the bark on the tree even taste good?
I don't really have an alert, but when I don't have anything to do, I like to hiss as loud assss I can. Do you like hissssing? If not, what onomatopoeia do you like to make?
Happy Hissing,
Rocky Rattlesnake
@Rocky Rattlesnake,
DeleteBraxton Blobfish here! As you know from the comment in the comment section below, the comment that I wrote, it described what physical adaptations I have. If you read the comment, you would know that I am endangered. When I read your comment, I at once knew that your species is not endangered or threatened. Am I correct?
Instead of your species, what is your favorite species? For instance, it could be the blobfish, dog, or any other animal other than the rattle snake. I know my favorite animal in the ocean is the majestic dolphin. Even though I have never seen them, I know that the dolphin is a graceful swimmer and a beautiful mammal. I know all this because of the angelfish mailman that comes to my house every time I have mail, which is not often. He sits down with me and discusses the wonderful coral reefs, amazing animals, and many other wonderful things. Oh, how I wish I either was another animal or got more mail. Can you mail me some letters, Rocky? By the way, if you send me any mail, it has to be in a waterproof envelope and sent to this address: 21221 Blobfish Avenue, Pacific Ocean.
How deadly is your venom on a scale of one to ten? I think it would be ten because you said your venom is the deadliest type that can be in a rattlesnake. Even though I do not have any venom, I am a very interesting animal that scientists do not know much about. If you have any more facts about me, do tell! I will search up some facts up about you.
Have a wonderful day infecting people with your poison! Now that I think about it, don't infect anyone.
Bountiful Blogging,
Braxton Blobfish
Dear Mrs. Ranney's Class,
ReplyDeleteJambo! I am Ayana, the aardvark, from the African grasslands,which are called savannas.
My claws and my tongue are two of my physical adaptations. Shaped like spoons, my sharp claws help me tear open ant or termite nests, and my sticky, long tongue helps me lap up the delectable dinner I find in the nests!
My claws really come in handy in many ways! In addition to helping me find my dinner, I used them to dig my 43-foot long burrow.
I was certainly relieved that I had just finished my burrow in time to escape a fierce lion that tried to attack me yesterday!
Before I ducked into my home, I rolled onto my back and used my claws to let that lion know who is king of this burrow!
Rolling onto my back to defend myself is an example of one
of my behavioral adaptations.
Now, I’m just resting here in my burrow waiting to read all about
your adaptations!
Sincerely,
Ayana
Dear Ayana aardvark,
DeleteI'm Larry leopard. You're lucky because I only like animals that don't have sticky physical adaptations on them. It's like eating peanut butter mixed with honey! Anyway, you better watch out! That lion (Ali) is going to comment to you! He'll be back! So you better watch your back.
Now, drumroll please.... my adaptations! I'm a leopard, as you know, so I have spots, well kind of. I have unfinished rings around full spots. You may think that you can see me very well. But think again! In the light, you can't really see me. That's a physical adaptation. That means it's part of my body. A behavioral adaptation is what you do, or how you eat, and how you try not to be eaten. For me, I usually kill my prey, of course, then bring it up a tree to consume the delicious meal. What type of adaptation is that? You're probably wondering why I do that. To answer that question, I usually do it so other preditors, such as my cousin, the jaguar, from getting my dinner. I also do it to eat in the shade.
My favorite food is toucan wings. You might think of it as chicken wings, but we don't have chickens in the rainforest. During the time when there aren't toucans, I eat antelope, birds, etc. People say I'm a fierce hunter. What can I say? It's how I roll.
What do you eat? Are you a herbivore, or a hunter?
Your new buddy,
Larry leopard
Dear (I don't mean it) Larry Leopard,
DeleteMy goodness! I am so glad your cousin didn't see me.
That is because he is my predator, and there were very big chances that Jack the jaguar could have spotted me!
Do you know why? Of course you don't know for sure, so I will tell you.
I WAS IN THE RAINFOREST! Your relative, Jack, lives in the rainforest, and I know that so many of my other enemies live there too.
Right now I am all huddled up in my burrow, trembling, because I am so scared! I keep asking myself, "Why did I even go to that rainforest? How was I saved?" I am waiting for a very specific answer.
Sincerely,
Aarnie Armadillo (Aashi)
Dear Mrs. Yollis and class,
ReplyDeleteHello! My name is Aarnie Armadillo!
Right now I am trying to tear open an insect's nest with my sharp claws. As soon as I've torn this apart, I will quickly use my long tongue to devour these insects up.
But right now I'm in a very dangerous area, where my predators may find me. I am so scared! Still, this is the best place to find my appetite, and I am starving! If a predator comes, I will use my armor-like body and roll myself into an armor-ball. This will help me defend myself from that animal. Other armadillo species cannot roll into an armor-ball.
To make shelter, us armadillos have to dig a burrow to live in.
I am on my way home right now, and I am so glad that no other creature that thinks I am tasty didn't eye me! :D I was able to eat tons of insects.
Sincerely,
Aarnie Armadillo
Dear Mrs. Yollis and class,
ReplyDeleteI am Braxton Blobfish of Australia. If any sea creature is going to prey on me, they better have some scuba diving gear. I live in the way depths of the ocean. The depths that I live in can be to 2,000 to 4,000 feet down. Little or no sunlight reaches where I live. Good luck eating me! If any of you sea creatures stand a chance against me, let me know right away, so I can be prepared for it.
And now, for a physical adaptation! My eyes are one physical adaptation of mine while my other physical adaptations have not been explored yet.
I use my bioluminescent eyes to see in this dark zone of the ocean. Bioluminescent means a light that comes from fireflies, jellyfish, and deep sea fishes. Right now, I am looking at some sea slugs and worms passing by with my talented eyes. I think I am going to eat those creatures today. Now I am going to say something that you might laugh about. Go ahead and laugh, I am not offended.
I only eat sea slugs and worms because they are they only prey that is too slow to escape my presence.
My anatomy is a very strange one. I have a large mouth and a nearly round, blobby looking body. Unlike most normal fish, I lack scales and have soft bones. My skin has many folds, and the folds even cover my fins.
Believe it or not, I am a very weak swimmer. Instead of swimming, I float or walk on my large pectoral fins. (Pectoral means side.) I am usually one foot long. Pretty small, right?
I live in the southeastern mild waters of Australia and Tasmania. Other blobfish like me are threatened by deep-sea fishing, especially a type of fishing called trawling. This type of fishing involves dragging a long net across the ocean floor. This net can catch blobfish and ruin their habitat by mistake. Animals, please tell all your friends about this and how other blobfish and I are threatened right now. If you tell them, they might spread the word to other animals and they can help conserve blobfish and their habitats. Do you know another animal that is endangered or threatened? If so, what is it and what is making that animal die out?
Bountiful Blogging,
Braxton Blobfish
Dear Braxton Blobfish,
DeletePerry the python and Larry the leopard here! We would never find you, but you seem quite tasty.
Perry the python is a type of snake that is large. It can swim, but never as deep as you. He lives in: Australia(like you), Asia, Africa, and India. This vertebrate is around the top five on world's largest snake.
The rock python can be thirty feet long! Can you figure out where the rock python lives? The amethystine (AM uh THIHS tihn) can be up to twenty feet long! Where is this python located?
The python can eat an animal as big as a house cat, or larger. They can eat a hog that weighs up to 100 pounds!
Larry leopard is the third largest cat in the world! The biggest leopards can be nine feet(2.7 meters) long from nose to tail! He has dark spots that are hard to see in the dim light. This wild cat kills it's prey, and then takes it up a tree to consume. This helps Larry so other predators can't devour his meal.
Braxton, an animal that is dieing out is the great panda. Can you search up this creature? Do you have internet in the ocean? If so, is it Verizon or not?
Sincerely,
Perry python and Larry leopard (Theo and Chloe)
@Perry the python and Larry the leopard,
DeleteYou must be quite a pig to eat all that! If you haven't heard, we are Paris the giant panda, Jacky the jaguar, and Cheddar the cheetah. We are all mammals that live on land. However, we do not all live on the same continent.
Paris is so disappointed that she might become extinct. She has been moaning nonstop. Loosing her kind is like loosing a best friend to Cheddar and me.
We would like to play a little game with you. We are going to name two animals and you have to find two differences and similarities.
We are starting with an emu and black bear.
Are you going to accept the chalenge?
Your friends,
Paris the giant panda, Cheddar the cheetah, and Jacky the jaguar (aka Sheila, Allison, and Shayna)
@Larry leopard and Perry Python,
DeleteWow! Those are some amazing facts about the python! I never knew about these creatures. In fact, I never knew about any of the land animals. I am so glad that this post has introduced animals to me. I think that this Family Blogging Month has really encouraged other animals to get in the mix of blogging.
My favorite fact about the python is that the python can swim. I like this fact because the python in this way is somewhat similar to me. I do know where the rock python lives. Here is the location: Africa. I think that the rock python is an amazing creature length-wise. If I could be that long, I would faint at my length!
Larry, your physical adaptation is a wonderful one. I don't have anything like that adaptation. When you look at me, I am just a plain pink blob. My name is even simple:Blobfish. Your name, leopard, is a wonderful name. I wonder how they came up with your name.
I know how they came up with my name. They thought that I looked like a blob and I was a fish, so they put the two together and they got blobfish. I know, it is a plain name. Do you know of any other animals that have a plain name? If so, what is the animal?
Yes, I do have Internet in the ocean. My internet is from AT&T. Right now I am typing on a Jellyfish computer. That is like the Apple computer for the ocean. What kind of computer are you typing on?
Happy Hissing and Exceptional Eating,
Braxton Blobfish
Dear Mrs. Yollis and class,
ReplyDeleteI am a very slow sloth, so my friends call me Slowpoke and I am very proud of that name. I move so slowly that algae grows on my fur making it very easy for me to camouflage within my surroundings so that cheetahs and other predators don't catch and eat me as prey. Even though I am an animal and very slow, it doesn't mean I don't like to exercise . I use my long arms to swim in the many narrow rivers in the tropical rainforest. I am not too muscular but I have claws that grip the tree branches allowing me to stay in the trees most of the time.
From,
Slowpoke the Sloth
(aka Miriam)
@Mrs. Yollis and class,
ReplyDeleteI heard you are having a lot of heat.I have a question what is heat? Is heat nice or mean? Over where I live it is freezing. When it is really cold I love to cuddle up with the other penguins. I wish I could fly so I could see for my self, but sadly I can't. I am one of the only bird that cannot fly:(. Oh ya I might not be able to fly, but I can swim.
Coldly,
Peter Penguin (Daniel)
Dear Mrs. Yollis,
ReplyDeleteI am Zanni the Zebra. I live in the savannas of Africa. I look like a horse but I have stripes which are good for camouflaging. When I am together with my friends, it will be hard for my predator to eat me because my predator the lion will not know who to chase because he can only see stripes. This is why I like being Zannie the Zebra
From,
Zannie the Zebra (Hannah)
Dear Mrs. Yollis,
ReplyDeleteI am Chaser the Cheetah, and I live in eastern Africa. I am not really big but very fast and I can run 50-70 miles per hour. I catch my food which is small antelopes by running very fast. I am also very sneaky and can camouflage so that I can catch my meals by attacking the animal I want to eat. I like being a cheetah because I run very fast.
From,
Chaser the Cheetah (Michael)
Dear Mrs. Yollis,
ReplyDeleteI am Mona the spider monkey. I live in the tropical forest. I can hang by the tail and even pick up things by curling my tail around them. I use arms to swing from branch to branch. I also eat fruits,seeds and other plants. My hands have four long fingers and a small thumb. I swing to the very top so I can reach the delicious fruit that no one else can reach.
From,
Mona the spider monkey { Hannah}
Dear Mrs.Yollis
ReplyDeleteI am boo the black bear and I live in the national forests. I ate salmon, fruit,nuts,leaves,and insects all summer long. Then.I slept all winter long because there was no food. Now it's spring, and I just woke up from a long hibernation. I was so hungry that I went to a river to catch fish. People should stay away or I will eat them up.
From,
Boo the Black bear (Michael)
Dear Mrs. Yollis,
ReplyDeleteI'm Bob the bald eagle!
I am a powerful bird of prey, with sharp talons and a pointy beak.
I can fly for a long time and have incredible eyesight.
With my keen eyes I can spot my favorite snacks from high above the ground. I usually go for small animals but sometimes I actually target mammals that are much larger than me.
Can you name the snacks I consume?
Finally, I am the national bird of the United States! Do you know any other national animals or plants?
Sincerely,
Bob the bald eagle (Payam, Chloe's dad)
Dear Bob the bald eagle,
DeleteIt's Larry the leopard here, and I am glad you commented! ;-)
I see you're a hunter too! Just saying, I got some skills. I come from a family of hunters. My brother, Liam the leopard, and sister, Lola the leopard, are learning from the best, me! So you better watch out, because I love fish, ground squirrels, and fish too! But I also like birds, so look out, Larry the leopard is coming!
Do you like toucan wings (chicken wings)? If not, do you like mice?
Hungrily,
Larry the leopard
P.S. Did you notice that I bolded the foods I eat? I also answered your question. It's a win win!
Dear Mrs. Yollis,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Larry the lion and I am here with my friend, Perry the python. My physical adaptation is that I can run very fast, but I am at the top of the food chain. Perry the python's physical adaptation is his body color. He is camouflaged, so he can hide from predators or sneak up on prey. Watch out, we are strong animals!
Sincerely, Ali
Theo
Dear Mrs. Yollis,
ReplyDeleteI am Clare the cougar, and I am looking for my dinner. It is a rabbit named Rebecka.
I am hiding from a cougar named Clare. Is the coast clear? HERE I GO! Oh No! I just saw her. I will jump on my big back legs and get away.
I'M BACK! You won't run away this time. You know I am the second fastest animal in Kentucky.
See you soon,
Clare the cougar and Rebecka the rabbit (Samantha and Cl♥re)
Dear animals,
ReplyDeleteWe are the jellyfish, and you may know us. I have stung creatures all over the sea. Some of our venom can even be deadlier than snake venom! If you live under the sea, beware of our pack!
We swim by expanding our body like an umbrella, and then to propel our body, we pull it together again, rapidly. That way, it squeezes the water out from under the body and moves us through the water. If we deadly animals stop, we sink to the ocean floor.
To pay back the other animals, on our way down, we touch the other animals, driving toxic into the animals. They paralyze the animals, and they then die. Take that blobfish! It looks like today you'll get infected! >:-D You better sleep with one of those blobby eyes open, or you'll never wake up!
Surprisingly, some fish and turtles find me tasty! Just thinking about that makes me shiver. Brrr... I better watch out for those pesky pests out there! I hope that they won't find me today... I'd think I'd like to live a little longer. ;-)
Stinging Sincerely,
The Jellyfish Pack
Dear Mrs. Yollis,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Barny the grizzly bear, and I am just longing to dig my claws and fangs into your friend, Bucky the beaver! BEWARE!
My friends and I can weigh up to 1700 pounds. I can give birth to 1-4 cubs. My diet type is omnivore. I can live in the wild for approximately 20 to 30 years, but if I am held captive, I can live longer.
So, Bucky, could I have your burrow address? Maybe? Oh whatever! Please! I need some dinner! I could snack on Rocky R. Hmm, I wonder who would be tastier? Ah, I'll just snack on both. BEWARE! I would sleep with one I open tonight! Again, BEWARE!
Watch out!
BEWARE!
Warmly,
Barny the grizzly bear
@ Cheddar the cheetah and Jacky the jaguar,
ReplyDeleteYou guys are right! I am moaning nonstop(I also moaned about a month.I am lucky that I am still living,but I'm keeping my eyes peeled you don't know who's out there.
And now,my adaptations.
I have a extra thumb(that helps a little on my typing skills).
My thumb can also help me hold my bamboo.
Warmly,
Paris the giant panda