An adaptation is a special feature or behaviour that helps an animal survive where it lives . Adaptations are not chosen by an animal during its life — instead , they build up slowly over many, many generations . Animals that happen to be born with helpful features are more likely to survive and have babies , and they pass those features on. This gradual change over long stretches of time is called evolution .
Scientists sort adaptations into two main kinds . Physical adaptations are features of the body , such as a thick coat of fur, sharp claws , or webbed feet . Behavioural adaptations are special things an animal does, such as hibernating through winter , hunting at night , or migrating to warmer lands . Both kinds work together to keep an animal alive .
✨ A giraffe's long neck helps it reach leaves high in the trees , and a polar bear's thick fur and fat keep it warm in the freezing Arctic .
📷 Post of Indonesia · Public domain🗂️ Sort each adaptation: is it a body feature or a behaviour?
Physical (body) adaptation Behavioural adaptation
Physical (body) adaptation Behavioural adaptation
Physical (body) adaptation Behavioural adaptation
Migrating south for food
? Physical (body) adaptation Behavioural adaptation
Webbed feet for swimming
? Physical (body) adaptation Behavioural adaptation
Physical (body) adaptation Behavioural adaptation
One of the cleverest physical adaptations is camouflage — colours and patterns that help an animal blend into its surroundings so predators or prey cannot spot it. A stick insect looks exactly like a twig , an Arctic hare turns white in winter to vanish against the snow , and a flatfish can change its skin pattern to match the seabed beneath it.
📷 Shiv's fotografia · CC BY-SA 4.0💡 The opposite of camouflage is warning colouration . Bright reds and yellows on frogs and wasps shout 'I am dangerous — do not eat me!' to hungry predators .
🔗 Match each adaptation to how it helps.
Keeps an animal warm Helps catch food Helps swimming Helps an animal hide
Keeps an animal warm Helps catch food Helps swimming Helps an animal hide
Keeps an animal warm Helps catch food Helps swimming Helps an animal hide
Keeps an animal warm Helps catch food Helps swimming Helps an animal hide
Adaptations often match an animal precisely to the food it eats . A beak is a brilliant example . A sharp , hooked beak lets an eagle tear flesh , a long , thin beak lets a hummingbird sip nectar deep inside a flower , a strong , cone-shaped beak lets a finch crack tough seeds , and a wide , flat beak lets a duck scoop and filter food from water . The same is true of teeth : lions have long , pointed fangs for gripping meat , while cows have broad , flat teeth for grinding grass .
✨ Beaks are adapted too: a sharp hooked beak tears meat , while a thin pointy beak sips nectar from flowers .
🔗 Match each beak shape to the bird's food.
Filtering water (duck) Cracking seeds (finch) Sipping nectar (hummingbird) Tearing meat (eagle)
Filtering water (duck) Cracking seeds (finch) Sipping nectar (hummingbird) Tearing meat (eagle)
Filtering water (duck) Cracking seeds (finch) Sipping nectar (hummingbird) Tearing meat (eagle)
Filtering water (duck) Cracking seeds (finch) Sipping nectar (hummingbird) Tearing meat (eagle)
📷 Bernard Gagnon · CC0Some animals live in such extreme places that their adaptations seem almost magical . Camels close their nostrils and have a third , see-through eyelid to keep out blowing sand . Desert kangaroo rats can live their whole lives without ever drinking , getting all the water they need from the seeds they eat. Deep-sea fish make their own light in the pitch-black ocean . Each of these is a perfect answer to the challenges of a particular habitat .
✍️ Fill in the adaptation words.
A body feature such as fur or claws is a _____ adaptation , while hibernating is a _____ adaptation . Blending into the background is called _____ .
physical behavioural camouflage evolution
