Animal Habitats for Class 5 Science
- The place where an animal lives and grows is called the Animal habitat.
- A habit provides an organism with a place to reproduce, food to grow and shelter to protect itself from harsh climatic conditions.
- Different types of animals are found in different habitats.
- Animals develop specific features that enable them to live comfortably in their habitats.
Terrestrial Habitat
Question 1:
What are sweat glands? Why are they absent in kangaroos?
Answer:
- The sweat glands are meant for the loss of water through the skin.
- As kangaroos are found in the desert, their skin lacks sweat glands to reduce the passive loss of water through the skin.
- It helps in the retention of water in their bodies during water scarcity.
Question 2:
How do black circles around the eyes of the meerkat help in protecting their eyes?
Answer:
- The black circles around the eyes of meerkats prohibit intense light rays from entering their eyes and protect them from any damage.
- The colour black is a good absorber of light rays and absorbs the light rays of almost all wavelengths.
Question 3:
How do long or large ears improve the sense of hearing?
Answer:
- The outer ear or pinnae is specialised to gather sound waves and channel them to the inner ear.
- Thus, the presence of long ears in some animals collects more sound waves and hence, helps improve hearing.
Question 4:
What are nocturnal animals? Why are most desert animals nocturnal?
Answer:
- The animals that are more active during the night than the day are called nocturnal animals.
- The temperature in deserts is too high and unbearable during the day. So, the animals in deserts hide themselves to escape the heat.
- At night, the temperature decreases, making it easy for the animals to hunt.
Question 5:
How are the bodies of arboreal animals specialised for their habitat?
Answer:
- The animals with arboreal habitats have curved bodies, making it easy for them to climb the trees.
- Also, they have strong chest muscles, which help them to move between the branches climbing and grasping them.
Question 6:
What are cursorial animals? How are they adapted according to their needs?
Answer:
- The terrestrial animals adapted to run fast are called cursorial animals, like deer, leopards, etc.
- They show the following adaptations—
- Their body is spindle-shaped.
- The ribs are flattened.
- They have an extended head and neck.
- Their forelimbs are shorter than the hind limbs.
Question 7:
Why are mountain animals large in size?
Answer:
- The animals living in the mountains need to survive in extreme cold climatic conditions. One of the significant adaptations for surviving in such an environment is body heat retention.
- Smaller bodies tend to lose body heat more quickly. So, mountain animals have large bodies to retain their body heat and stay warm.
Question 8:
How are golden eagles adapted to live in the mountains?
Answer:
They have the following adaptations that help them live in the mountains—
- They are huge and can weigh up to 5 kilograms.
- They have a wingspan that varies from 180-220 cm.
- They have good eyesight and can spot their prey from a distance.
- Their body is covered with dark brown coloured feathers. This colour varies in different body parts of the eagle.
Aquatic Habitat and Special Adaptations
Question 9:
How do aquatic animals regulate their body temperature?
Answer:
- Aquatic animals are cold-blooded.
- Their body temperature changes according to the change in the temperature of the surrounding water.
- Some large fishes like tunas and sharks can maintain body temperature by retaining heat in large muscles of their body.
Question 10:
How do aquatic mammals manage to breathe without inhaling water?
Answer:
Aquatic mammals show physical and behavioural adaptations that enable them to breathe without inhaling water. Some of these adaptations are as follows —
- The blowhole is located on the top of their head. It allows them to breathe even if the maximum part of their body is inside water.
- Aquatic mammals take rapid breaths. For example, fin whales can exhale and inhale in less than two seconds.
- Bottle-nosed dolphins can inhale and exhale in around 0.3 seconds.
- Some species of dolphins jump out of the water to breathe.
- Aquatic mammals have a large amount of haemoglobin in their blood.
Question 11:
Enlist the adaptations found in a water opossum which help it to survive in aquatic habitat.
Answer:
The adaptations found in water opossum are as follows—
- Its body is covered with small dense water repellent fur.
- Its hind feet are webbed.
- It has a strong muscular pouch that protects the offspring from water. Water cannot enter the pouch even if the whole body of the mother opossum is inside the water.
Question 12:
What is echolocation? Which aquatic animals use it?
Answer:
- Echolocation is the phenomenon of locating an object by sensing the sound waves reflected from it.
- Toothed whales use echolocation to judge an object's distance, movement and size when there is insufficient light.
Question 13:
What is basking? How is it helpful to aquatic animals?
Answer:
- Some cold-blooded animals are adapted to live inside water and on land.
- These animals come out in the sun to bask. It heats their bodies and helps them regulate their body temperatures.
Question 14:
What are kingsnakes famous for?
Answer:
- Kingsnakes are non-venomous snakes but are capable of tolerating venoms.
- It makes them capable of feeding on highly poisonous snakes like rattlesnakes.
Question 15:
Can amphibians regrow their body parts like a lizard? If yes, give examples.
Answer:
- Amphibians are capable of regrowing their limbs.
- They can also regenerate the cells of the body parts like the jaws and retina.
- Examples of such animals are salamanders and newts.
Question 16:
Mention a few physiological adaptations seen in fishes to survive in freezing temperatures.
Answer:
The following physiological adaptations are seen in fishes which help them survive in cold temperatures—
- Lowering the rate of metabolic activities as it allows them to consume less energy. Hence, they require less food.
- Decrease the speed of locomotion so that they can decrease energy consumption.
Question 17:
What do you understand by behavioural adaptations?
Answer:
- The adaptations seen in some animals which help them to survive in their natural habitats are called behavioural adaptations.
- These adaptations involve movement of any body part, alarm calls, howling, changing the shape of their bodies etc.
- Some examples are howling of wolves, wagging of tail by dog, alarm calls by birds, etc.