Read about animals
key notes :
Animal Groups
Animals can be grouped as:
- Mammals – Have fur or hair and give birth to live young (e.g., lion, dolphin).
- Birds – Have feathers and lay eggs (e.g., eagle, parrot).
- Reptiles – Have scaly skin and usually lay eggs (e.g., snake, lizard).
- Amphibians – Live in water and on land, lay eggs (e.g., frog, salamander).
- Fish – Live in water and breathe through gills (e.g., goldfish, shark).
- Insects – Have six legs and three body parts (e.g., ant, butterfly).
Animal Habitats
Animals live in different places based on their needs:
- Forest – Deer, tiger, owl
- Desert – Camel, lizard
- Ocean – Whale, octopus
- Polar regions – Polar bear, penguin
Food Habits
- Herbivores – Eat only plants (e.g., cow, giraffe)
- Carnivores – Eat only meat (e.g., lion, eagle)
- Omnivores – Eat both plants and meat (e.g., bear, human)
Body Coverings and Adaptations
- Fur or hair for warmth (mammals)
- Feathers for flying or warmth (birds)
- Scales to retain water (reptiles and fish)
- Webbed feet, camouflage, or long ears help animals survive
Animal Behaviors
- Some animals migrate to find food or better weather (e.g., birds)
- Some animals hibernate in winter (e.g., bears)
- Animals use sounds, colors, and body language to communicate
Endangered Animals
- Some animals are at risk of disappearing forever
- Reasons include habitat loss, hunting, and pollution
- Example: Tiger, rhinoceros, panda
Importance of Animals
- Provide food, clothing, and help in farming
- Play an important role in ecosystems
Learn with an example
🔥Read the text about cat
Meows.
- While kittens meow to their mothers, they stop once they are old enough to take care of themselves. At that point, cats use smell, touch and body language to talk to each other. So if adult cats aren’t making noise for each other, why do cats meow? Cats meow to talk with their humans!
- If you are a cat owner, you may be interested in understanding your cat’s meows. Different meows can have distinct meanings. A short, high squeak or chirp is a cheerful hello. A louder and longer meow is a cat’s way of saying ‘Please?’ or ‘Let me out!’ An even longer and louder meow is your cat’s way of demanding something, like ‘Food! Now!’ Of course, the best cat sound to many cat owners is a low, rumbling purr that comes from a happy cat.
🔥Why do adult cats meow?
- to talk to people
- to talk to other cats
- to act like kittens
Look at the text in bold below. It tells you why adult cats meow.
While kittens meow to their mothers, they stop once they are old enough to take care of themselves. At that point, cats use smell, touch and body language to talk to each other. So if adult cats aren’t making noise for each other, why do cats meow? Cats meow to talk with their humans!
🔥Read the text about
beehives.
- Like many animals, bees live in nests. These nests, which are sometimes called hives, each have one opening where all bees enter and leave. Inside the nest are sheets of tiny rooms made of wax, called honey combs. The tiny rooms are shaped like hexagons. That means they have six sides. These hexagons fit together without wasting space, and their shape helps make the nest stronger.
- To make the wax for the honeycombs, bees use the sugar from the honey they eat. They convert this sugar into wax. To make the honeycomb rooms, bees first make a circle with the soft wax. They then use their bodies to push the circle and give it its six flat sides. Once the rooms have been built, the bees use them to store pollen, eggs and honey. All of those are things that bees need to keep growing and working day after day.
🔥What are the small rooms inside the bees’ nest made of?
- sticks
- wax
- eggs
Look at the text in bold below. It tells you what the small rooms inside the bees’ nest are made of.
Like many animals, bees live in nests. These nests, which are sometimes called hives, each have one opening where all bees enter and leave. Inside the nest are sheets of tiny rooms made of wax, called honeycombs.
The tiny rooms are shaped like hexagons. That means they have six sides. These hexagons fit together without wasting space, and their shape helps make the nest stronger.
🔥Read the text about Alex the
parrot.
- Most parrots can speak, or at least copy the sounds of people talking. Alex, an African grey parrot, learned to do much more. He knew how to do simple maths. In fact, he was capable of adding up to six objects. Alex added up crackers, jelly beans and blocks. He could also point out seven different colours and six shapes. And he knew more than a hundred words!
- Alex’s owner taught him for more than thirty years and observed a lot about how parrots learn. People had worked with animals before Alex to see if animals could understand language and maths. But Alex proved that animals might be even smarter than we thought!
🔥Based on the text, what was one of the things that made Alex different from most parrots?
- He loved playing with blocks.
- He was an African grey parrot.
- He was able to do maths.
Look at the text in bold below. It tells you what made Alex different from most parrots.
Most parrots can speak, or at least copy the sounds of people talking. Alex, an African grey parrot, learned to do much more. He knew how to do simple maths. In fact, he was capable of adding up to six objects.
Alex added up crackers, jelly beans and blocks. He could also point out seven different colours and six shapes. And he knew more than a hundred words!
🔥Read the text about
kangaroos.
- Kangaroos are unusual-looking animals. But their funny-looking bodies help them survive in the wild. Thanks to their strong back legs, kangaroos can jump up to nine metres. They also pound their long feet and big tails on the ground to warn other kangaroos of danger.
- Kangaroos use their short arms to defend themselves against each other or dangerous animals, such as wild dogs. Some people call kangaroos boxers because of the way they hold their arms when they fight. Kangaroos also sometimes lick their arms on hot days. They do this to cool off. From head to toe, kangaroos use what they have to stay safe and comfortable in the wild.
🔥Why are kangaroos called boxers?
- because they have strong back legs
- because of how they use their arms to fight
- because they lick their arms before fighting.
Look at the text in bold below. It tells you why kangaroos are called boxers.
Kangaroos use their short arms to defend against each other or dangerous animals, such as wild dogs. Some people call kangaroos boxers because of the way they hold their arms when they fight. Kangaroos sometimes lick their arms on hot days. They do this to cool off. From head to toe, kangaroos use what they have to stay safe and comfortable in the wild.
let’s practice!
Read the text about okapis.
When you first see an okapi, you might think it’s related to a horse or a zebra. Its body and neck are horse-like, and its legs have black-and-white stripes like a zebra does. But the okapi is not related to a horse or a zebra; its closest relative is actually the giraffe. In fact, okapis are sometimes called forest giraffes, since they live mainly in the rainforests of central Africa.
An okapi’s relationship to a giraffe is most noticeable in its face. Like giraffes, okapis have long, thin faces topped with large, upwards-pointing ears. Male okapis also have little furry horns like giraffes’ horns. Additionally, both giraffes and okapis have long, dark tongues, which can grab and strip leaves from trees. And just like giraffes, okapis are plant eaters, feeding on leaves, buds, twigs and fruit.
In many ways, though, okapis are quite different from their giraffe cousins. An okapi’s neck is much shorter than a giraffe’s. This is useful, because a long neck would make it difficult to move through thick vegetation. Another important difference is that giraffes are social and live in herds, while okapis are shy, solitary creatures. They tend to live alone, hiding in the dense forest. Perhaps that’s why most people didn’t even know okapis existed until around 1900.
Even though okapis tend to keep to themselves, they do have ways to communicate with each other. For example, they mark their territories by leaving scent marks with their feet. And mother okapis can communicate with their babies ‘silently’, using sounds that are too low in pitch for people—and predators—to hear. That’s a good thing, too, as these animals are in danger of dying out. They need all the protection from predators that they can get
