Contents
Biology Topics encompass the study of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms.
How Different Animals Have Adapted To Their Environment?
Adaptations in Big Cats
The wild animals such as lions and tigers, etc., are called big cats (see Figure 12). The big cats are carnivores which eat only the meat (or flesh) of other animals. The big cats hunt and kill animals (such as deer) to obtain food. The big cats can live and survive in the tropical rainforests due to the following adaptations:
1. The big cats (lion and tiger) have a highly developed sense of smell which helps them to locate their prey (and kill for obtaining food). Big cats also have sensitive hearing. This also helps to find their prey.
2. The ‘yellow-brown colour’ of lion and the yellow brown colour with black stripes’ of tiger helps them to hide in the forest (without being seen easily). This camouflage (or blending with the surroundings) helps the big cats in catching their prey.
3. The big cats (lion and tiger) have eyes in front of their head which enable them to have a correct idea of the location of their prey. This helps in catching the prey. The big cats also have good eyesight for hunting at night.
4. The big cats (lion and tiger) can run very fast. The high speed of running helps the big cats in catching their prey.
5. The big cats (lion and tiger) have long strohg and sharp claws in their front legs to catch their prey. The big cats can withdraw (pull in) the claws inside the toes so that they do not get worn out and blunt when they walk. Big cats also have powerful teeth and jaws to kill large prey.
Adaptations in Elephants
Elephant is a very large animal of Indian tropical rainforest (see Figure). Elephants are plant eaters. Elephant has adapted to the conditions of rainforests in many remarkable ways. The various adaptations in elephant which help it live and survive in tropical rainforest habitat are as follows:
1. One of the most important adaptation in an elephant is its trunk (which we can see in the front) (see Figure). The trunk of an elephant is basically an elongated nose (which is also capable of grasping things). The trunk helps the elephant in many ways. The elephant uses the trunk to smell. Because of the
trunk, elephant has a strong sense of smell. It is also used for breathing. The elephant uses its long trunk to pick up food (like grass and plants, etc.) and put into its mouth. The trunk of elephant can reach up to the branches of trees and help it eat tree leaves as food. The elephant uses trunk for drinking water (by sucking up water and putting it into the mouth). The elephant also uses the trunk to bathe itself.
2. Another good adaptation of the elephant are its tusks. Tusks are the big and long pointed teeth which come out from the closed mouth of the elephant (see Figure). Tusks are the modified teeth of elephant. Tusks are actually the incisor teeth of elephant. Elephant uses the tusks to obtain food as follows : Elephant uses the tusks to tear off the bark of trees which it eats as food. An elephant has two tusks and four teeth. The elephant’s four teeth are inside the mouth. The elephant’s four teeth are molars (for chewing and grinding food). Elephants also use the tusks for fighting their enemies and protecting themselves.
3. The elephant has large ears. The large ears of elephant help it to hear even very soft sounds. Due to large ears, an elephant can hear even the slightest sound made by its predator behind him so that it can sense the danger and run away to safety. When the temperature rises, the elephants flap their large ears and use them as fans to cool themselves. So, the large ears also help the elephant to keep cool in the hot and humid climate of the tropical rainforest.
4. An elephant is very heavy. The elephant is adapted to support its great weight and prevent it from sinking into soft ground. The elephant’s feet are large and round. The large and round feet give good stability to the elephant and also prevent it from sinking into soft ground (by spreading its weight over a larger area).
We have just studied that big cats (lions and tigers) and elephants live on ground but they have different eating habits. Big cats eat flesh of animals whereas elephants eat grass and other plants. Due to their different food habits, big cats and elephants do not compete for food. There are, however, many other animals in the tropical rainforests (deer, etc.) which compete with elephants for grass and other plant food. In order to overcome the competition for food and shelter on the ground, many animals live on the trees in the tropical rainforests. Some of the animals which are adapted to live on the trees are : Red-eyed frogs, Toucans, Monkeys, and Lion-tailed macaques. We will now describe the important adaptations in these animals which help them live and survive on the trees.
Adaptations in Red-Eyed Frog
Red-eyed frog lives on the trees in the tropical rainforests, so it is also called red-eyed tree frog. It does not live in water. The red-eyed frog has a green back and a creamy underside. It has big and bulging bright-red eyes (see Figure). Red-eyed frog is nocturnal. It sleeps during the day and becomes active and feeds mainly at night. Red-eyed frog spends most of the day hidden on the underside of tree leaves. The various adaptations which help the red-eyed frog to live and survive on the trees in the rainforest habitat are as follows :
1. Red-eyed frog has developed sticky pads on its feet which help it to climb easily on the trees on which it lives. The sticky pads on feet also allow the red-eyed frog to attach itself to the branches and leaves of the trees.
2. The big and bulging bright-red eyes of this frog are an adaptation for protection. This can be explained as follows: If a predator (enemy) wakes up the sleeping red-eyed frog during daytime, its big and bright red eyes ‘pop open suddenly. The sudden opening of big and bright-red eyes frightens the predator for a while and the frog gets time to jump to a safe place.
3. The green colour of red-eyed frog helps it to hide within the green leaves of the tree unnoticed by its prey. This helps it in catching its prey (like insects, etc.). The hiding of red-eyed frog by mixing up with leaves due to its green colour also protects it from its predators (because they cannot see it easily).
4. Red-eyed frog has very good eye-sight which helps it to see very clearly at night.
5. Red-eyed frog is a carnivore and eats any type of insects as food.
Adaptations in Toucan
As there is competition for food even on the trees, some animals are adapted to get food from trees which is not reachable easily (like the fruits at the ends of very thin branches). An example of the animal which is adapted to get food from the fruits attached at the ends of even very thin branches is ‘toucan’. Toucan is a colourful bird with a strange looking beak (see Figure). Toucans beak is long and large. It has brightly coloured feathers. Toucan lives on the trees in tropical rainforests. It spends most of the time in the holes of big trees. Toucan eats fruits of the trees.
The various adaptations which help the toucan to live and survive in its habitat on the trees in rainforests are as follows :
1. Toucan has a long and large beak. The long and large beak helps a toucan to reach the fruits attached to the ends of even thin branches of trees which are too weak to support its weight. Thus, long and large beak is an adaptation in toucan for getting the otherwise unreachable fruits at the ends of very thin branches of trees. The large beak also helps in the temporary storage of fruits being collected by toucan.
2. The feet of toucan are adapted for grasping the branches of trees firmly. This happens as follows. The toucan has four toes (with claws) on each foot: two toes pointing forward and two toes pointing backward. This arrangement of toes helps the toucan to get a firm grip on the branches of trees (without falling down).
3. Toucan has the ability to change the colour of its feathers in order to blend (or mix up) with the surroundings. Due to this adaptation, toucan is not noticed easily by the predators and hence remains safe.
Adaptations in Monkey
The monkey is a small to medium sized animal usually having a long tail which normally lives on trees in tropical rainforests (see Figure). Monkeys simply sleep on convenient tree branches without making nests. The main adaptations in monkeys which help them live and survive on the trees in tropical rainforests are as follows:
- Monkeys are expert climbers. The hands and feet of monkeys are adapted in such a way that they can easily hold on to the branches of trees.
- Monkeys have long and strong gripping tails which they use for grasping branches of trees. Actually, monkeys use their long and strong tail like an extra hand to hold on to the branches of trees.
- Monkeys have very good eyesight. The very good eyesight helps the monkeys in leaping between the branches to escape from their predators.
- In the rainforest habitat, monkeys eat fruits, seeds, leaves, roots and insects as food.
Adaptations in Lion-Tailed Macaque
The lion-tailed macaque is a kind of medium sized monkey with a long face and cheek pouches for holding food while it is being collected. It is called lion-tailed because its tail is like that of a lion having ‘tufts of hair’ (bunch of hair) at the end. The most outstanding feature of lion-tailed macaque is its silver-white ‘mane’ which surrounds its head from the cheeks down to its chin (see Figure) (A growth of long hair on the neck of macaque is called ‘mane’). The mane of lion-tailed macaque appears to be like a beard, so the lion-tailed macaque is also called ‘beard ape’.
Lion-tailed macaques are unique to India. The lion-tailed macaques live in the rainforests of Western Ghats in India. The lion-tailed macaques spend most of the time feeding in the upper canopy of trees in the rainforests. The various adaptations in lion-tailed macaques which help them live and survive on the trees in tropical rainforests are as follows :
1. The lion-tailed macaque is a good climber and spends most of its time high up in trees. The hand and feet of lion-tailed macaque are adapted to hold on to the branches of trees firmly.
2. The lion-tailed macaque has very good eyesight which helps it in leaping between the branches. This adaptation is useful in moving from one tree to another in search of food and also to escape from predators.
3. The lion-tailed macaque feeds mainly on fruits on the trees. It also eats seeds, leaves, stems, flowers, and buds. The lion-tailed macaque also searches for insects under the bark of trees and eats them. Since lion-tailed macaque gets sufficient food on the trees, it rarely comes down on the ground.