Staying Alive
Staying Alive
Far up near the North Pole a tiny, baby seal lies in the snow. If a polar bear saw the baby seal, the bear would eat it up in a minute!But the polar bear cannot see the baby seal. The seal’s stiff, white fur is the same color as the snow. The baby seal is protected by its color.Most animals need some kind of protection to keep from being eaten. Some animals are protected by their shape or color, like the baby seal. Some animals areprotected by armor. Some are good fighters. Some are fast runners.But whether it runs or fights or hides, nearly every animal must have some way of protecting itself—to stay alive!
A seal pup’s color helps it stay alive.
Hiding with color
Hop! A green grasshopper shoots up out of the grass. It sails through the air and lands in the grass again. You can’t see it before it jumps. And you can’t see it after it comes down. Its green color…
Changing color
How would you like to play hide-and-seek with a chameleon? You’d have a hard time finding this tiny lizard. It can hide by changing color! It can be green on a green leaf, yellow on yellow sand, and…
Animal actors
Many animals protect themselves by pretending. The frilled lizard is small and harmless. But it pretends to be big and dangerous. When it opens its mouth its throat is bright red and frightening. A…
Animals in armor
If you saw a pangolin you might say it looked like a pine cone with legs and a tail. A pangolin is one of the animals that is protected by armor. It’s covered with scales like the scales on a pine…
