A world of smells
The squirrel can tell if the hickory nut is good or bad by the way it
smells.
Even though you can’t see them, you can tell when cookies are baking
nearby. You can’t see perfume on a lady, but you can tell she’s wearing
it. And you know if someone has been eating peppermint if they stand
close to you. Your nose tells you all these things.
An animal’s nose tells it many things, too. In fact, most animals’ noses
tell them a lot more than your nose tells you. A squirrel sniffs at a
nut before carrying the nut home. If you sniffed at the nut you
Flying Squirrel
With its two feathery, golden feelers, this moth can smell another
moth that is far away.Luna Moth
When a snake pokes its tongue out it is smelling. A snake’s tongue
helps it smell things.Israeli Racer
might not smell anything at all. But the squirrel’s nose tells the
squirrel if the nut is good or rotten.
When a snake goes hunting it pokes its Y-shaped tongue in and out. A
snake’s tongue can find the smell of a mouse or frog even in a whole
forest of other smells. The snake follows the smell by sticking its
tongue in and out.
Insects can smell things very well even though they have no noses. An
insect smells with its two wiggly feelers. A male luna moth has feelers
like two golden feathers. These feelers can smell a female luna moth a
mile (1.6 kilometers) away!
Smell helps an animal find food or find a mate. Smell lets an animal
know that an enemy is near. Each animal lives in its own world of
smells—and every smell means something to it.
