UNIT 3 : ANIMALS AND PLANTS PROTECT THEMSELVES SUBTOPIC MAJOR POINTS MINOR POINTS SUPPORTING POINTS 1 SUPPORTING POINTS 2 Animals against Enemies Special characteristics - Bad smell - Sting - Fangs - Sharp spines - Camouflage - Hard scales - Thick fur - Hard shells - Strong and sharp horns - Long legs and strong muscles - Sharp claws - Good eyesight and hearing 1) Bad smell - Some animals produce strong and bad smell to keep their enemies away. - Ex: cockroaches, skunks, beetles, bed bugs 2) Stings - Some insects have stings to defend themselves from enemies. - Bees and wasps have stings that can weaken their enemies. - Scorpions and centipedes have poisonous stings that can kill their enemies. 3) Fangs - Snakes have poisonous fangs to protect themselves and kill their enemies. - Snakes produce venom when biting. 4) Sharp spines - Porcupines have spines on the surface of their bodies. These spines can injure enemies that go near or attact the porcupines. - A stealth of muscles controls the movement of the spines so that they can be raised in a sign or warning when a porciupine is threatened. - The entire body of a porcupine fish is covered with sharp spines. - When the fish is threatened, it inflates its body, causing the spines to erect. This will scare away
the enemies. 5) Camouflage - Some animals have the ability to change their body colour similar to their surroundings and some animals blend in with their environment. - Camouflage is used to hide from enemies and preys. - Tigers and zebras have stripes so that they can better hide in the grass. - Deer, rabbits and squirrels have brownish colour that match the brown colours of the trees and soil. - Stick insects hide from their predators by blending in with the environment. They have a long, thick body that looks like a stick or twig. - Certain moths have 2 large spots on their wings which look like 2 eyes. - Chameleons can change their skin colour to adapt to their surroundings. - Arctic foxes have grey or blue fur in the summer, which changes to thick, white fur in the winter enabling them to survive the arctic temperatures and acting as camouflage to protect them from polar bears. 6) Hard scales, thick fur and hard shell - Some animals are covered with hard scales, thick hair or hard shells to protect them from their enemies. - Pangolins and crocodiles have hard scales which protect their bodies from injuries.
- Turtles, snails, clams and crabs have hard shells that protect them from enemies. - Bear have thick fur which protects them from danger and harm. 7) Strong and sharp horns - Some herbivors have strong and sharp horns to protect themselves against their enemies. - Ex: Deer, goats, rhinoceros, cows. 8) Long legs and strong muscles - Some animals have long legs and strong muscles to help them to run and escape from their enemies. 9) Sharp claws - Animals such as lions, tigers, eagles and bears use their sharp claws to protect themselves and to hunt for food. 10) Good eyesight and hearing - Some animals have very good eyesight and hearing that help them to detect their enemies early. - Ex: eagles have good eyesight while rabbits have good hearing. Special behaviours - Curling up bodies - Pretending to be dead - Break off its tail - Hiding in the shell - Living in groups 1) Curling up the bodies - Milipedes and pangolins curl up their bodies to protect themselves from danger.
2) Pretending to be dead - Some beetles and milipedes pretend to be dead when their enemies attact to disturb them. 3) Releasing black ink - Squid and octopuses release black ink to enable them to escape from their enemies. 4) Break off its tails - Lizards break off their tails when attacked by enemies. 5) Hiding in hard shells - Snails and tortoise hide their heads and legs in their shells when attacked by enemies. 6) Living in groups - Some animals live and move from place to place. In groups(herds). This allows them to defend themselves together when they are in danger. - Ex: antelpe, elephants, zebras, lions Extreme weather Special characteristics in hot weather - Less hairs - Light colours - Long ears - Able to store water and food - Hide in holes - Wallowing in mud holes 1) Less hair and light colours - Most animals which live in the desert have less hair and light colours to reduce heat absorption. 2) Long ears - Desert foxes have long ears to lose heat easily. 3) Able to store water and food - Camels have humps on their backs. Humps are
fatty tissues which can be used as a food reserve. This tissues acts as a source of energy. This enables them to live without eating and drinking for many days. 4) Hide in holes or underground - Most desert animals rest and hide underground or inside holes during the day to keep away from the heat. 5) Wallowing in mud - Hippopotamuses, buffaloes and rhinoceros keep their bodies cool in suuny days by wallowing in the mud. Special characteristics in cold weather - Thick fur - Thick layer of fat - Small ears - Hibernate - Migrate 1) Thick fur - Polar bears have thick fur to enable them to live in very cold weather. 2) Thick layer of fat - Penguins, sea lions and seals have a thick layer of fat under their skins to keep their bodies warm. 3) Small ears - Most cold region animals have small ears to prevent them from losing heat. 4) Hibernate - Certain animals sleep most of the time when there is a shortage of food in winter. This eanables them to reduce their need for energy. - Ex: Bears, squirrels, mice.
5) Migrate - Some animals migrate to warmer regions before the beginning of winter. - Ex: some birds, bats, flamingos, caribou. Plants against Enemies Natural defence - Able to fold leaves - Produce latex - Sharp thorns - Fine hairs - Produce poisonous substance - Thick and hard bark 1) Able to fold their leaves - Mimosa plants fold their leaves when touched. 2) Produce latex -Some plants produce latex in the leaves or fruits to prevent them from being eaten. Ex: papaya, mango, jacfruit and rubber trees. 3) Sharp thorns - Some plants have thorns on the leaves, stems or fruits. These thorns will hurt the animals that touch or eat the plants. - Ex: rose plant, cactus, pineapple plant, durian. 4) Fine hairs - Some plants have fine hairs on their fruits, stems or their leaves. These hairs can cause itchiness. - Ex: kiwi, bamboo,sugarcane, pumpkin. 5) Produce poisonous substances - Certain types of plants produce poisonous substances that may harm or kill animals or humans that eat them. 6) Have thick and hard bark/skin - The plants with thick and hard bark are not easily destroyed.
- Ex: coconut tree, shorea tree, rubber tree. Extreme weather Adaptation to nature Adaptation to dry regions: - thick stem - needle-like leaves - long roots - waxy leaves - shedding leaves - hairy leaves Plants in dry regions have specific characteristics to protect themselves from hot and dry weather. Cactus plant which are commonly found in the desert have: - Thick stems to store water. - Needle-like leaves to reduce the amount of water loss into the atmosphere. - Long roots to absorb water deep in the ground. On hot days, plants tend to lose lot of water the surroundings through the leaves. Therefore, some plants have waxy and waterproof leaves. Ex: yam, hibiscus, pandan. Some plants shed their leaves during hot seasons. Ex: The rubber tree, bougainvillae tree. Plants like pumpkin, cucumber and watermelon have hairy leaves to reduce excessive loss of water. The banana tree and maize plant curl up their leaves on hot days. Adaptation to strong winds: - divided leaves - strong buttress roots - stem which bends easily - needle-sharp leaves Plants which are found in windy areas have the following characteristics to protect themselves from strong winds. 1) Divided leaves - Plants like coconut trees and bamboo trees have
divided leaves that do not break easily when blown by strong winds. 2) Strong buttress roots -Buttress roots are large roots which grow out from the base of the trunk of a tall tree. - The roots help to support the tree so that it will not be uprooted by strong winds. Plants like the coconut tree, banyan tree and flame of the forest have buttress roots. 3) Stems which bends easily. - Plants like the bamboo tree and sugar cane have flexible stems that can bend easily when blown by strong winds. 4) Needle-shaped leaves -Casuarina trees have needle-shaped leaves to reduce wind resistance.