Techniques Animals use to Adapt to their environments

As mentioned earlier, animals have evolved to adapt to their environments, but these adaptations did not happen overnight. It has taken years and years for some animals to adapt to their environments. Let us now look at some techniques animals use to adapt.

Camouflage:

Have you noticed that some animals are the same colour as their environment? They can move through their environment without being preyed upon.

• They can mimic their environment, stick insects do this well.

• They can easily blend in with their environment by moving through places that have the same patterns on their skin. Lizards do this a lot.

Symbiosis:

This is when animals work together to adapt to their environment. One animal may have something or perform a function another animal needs and vice versa, to solve this they end up working together. An example is the plover (a type of bird) and crocodile, A crocodile opens its mouth for the plover to sit in its mouth an pick meat from its teeth. This provides food for the plover and also cleans the teeth of the crocodile, preventing infections.

Extra skin and Hibernation:

Some animals adapt to cold conditions through having extra layers of fat under their skin and plenty fur. Examples are Polar bears. Some animals also adapt to the cold by hibernating, in other words: Just plain sleeping. Bears and bats are the most common animals that hibernate.

Migration:

Some animals completely move away from their habitats when it gets to cold and then make their way back when the conditions are warmer.