Adapt to Survive

Adapt to Survive

Introduction
Natural selection is a process by which a species changes over time in response to changes in the environment , or competition between organisms, in order for the species to survive . The members of the species with the most desirable characteristics are able to produce the best-adapted offspring.

The process of natural selection means that over time each species has evolved to be adapted to its environmental niche.  A species characteristics will be suited to its environment.

What you have to do:
Look at the images and information on the three animals below. Draw a picture of each animal and try to label the adaptations in their anatomy. You can use scientific vocabulary or if you prefer you be more creative and use descriptive nouns and adjectives to describe each adaptation.  Take a look at our example below inspired by the work of the illustrator Sophie Corrigan.

Animal One: Red Fox

Scientific Name: Vulpus Vulpus

Habitat: Red foxes live around the world in many diverse habitats including forests, grasslands, mountains, and deserts. They also adapt well to human environments such as farms, suburban areas, and even large communities

Diet: Red foxes are omnivores with a highly varied diet. They typically hunt small mammals.

Reproduction:  Red foxes reproduce once a year in spring, the average litter size consists of four to six kits. The kits are born blind, death and toothless and stay in the den with their mother for 3 weeks. During this time the male fox provides the mother with food.

Red Squirrel

Latin Name: Sciurus vulgaris

Habitat: Coniferous woods

Diet: The red squirrel eats a wide-variety of foods including insects, seeds, bark, nuts, fruits, mushrooms and pine seeds or cones. Sometimes it eats insects, young birds, mice and rabbits. A large part of its diet is made up of pine seeds. In the fall, it will cut green pine cones from trees and store them in the ground.

Reproduction:  Red squirrels make a rough nest, called a 'drey' out of twigs, leaves and strips of bark in the fork of a branch, high up in the tree canopy. Breeding begins in winter and carries on through spring. Females may have two litters of two to three young a year.

European Mole

Scientific Name: Talpa europaea

Habitat: The European mole lives in a tunnel system, which it constantly extends. It uses these tunnels to hunt its prey. Under normal conditions the displaced earth is pushed to the surface, resulting in the characteristic molehills

Diet: Moles primarily eat earthworms, but they also consume other invertebrates, occasionally small mammals, succulent plant parts (roots, tubers, bulbs), seeds, and fungi.

Reproduction: Moles have one litter or young a year. The litter size ranges from two to seven. They stay with the mother for four to five weeks, after which time they leave their mothers tunnels to create their own.

So there are your 3 animals. Study the pictures and consider the information you have read. Which parts of each animal make it suited to living in its habitat, or eating it diet? Get drawing and labeling. We would love to see your drawings, why not share them with us on social media.
Once you have finished you can click on the interactive images below to see the adaptations for each animal.

Red Fox


Red Squirrel

European Mole