What are Forests (Or Grasslands) and Adaptation of Animals to Forests ?

Evolutionary Biology Topics allow us to trace the history of life on Earth.

Grassland : Definition, Animals, Plants, and Facts

A large area of land covered mainly with trees and plants is called a forest. And a large area of grass-covered land used for grazing is called grassland. There are few trees or places for animals to hide in grassland habitats. Due to this, speed is important for the animals which live in grassland habitats (so that they can run away from their enemies).

For most common purposes, however, the terms forest and grassland are used in the same sense. The forest (or grassland) is a habitat. Many animals such as lions, tigers, elephants, deer, etc., live in forest habitats. There are many features of a lion, a deer, other animals (and plants) which help them to survive in the forest habitat. The adaptations in lion and deer to the forest habitat are described below.

Adaptation in Lion

The lion is a carnivorous animal which eats only the meat (or flesh) of other animals (see Figure). The lion lives in a forest habitat. The lion is adapted to the forest habitat in the following ways:

1. The lion is a strong, fast and agile animal which can hunt and kill its prey like deer.
2. The lion has long, strong and sharp claws in its front legs to catch its prey. The lion can withdraw (pull in) the claws inside the toes so that they do not become worn out and blunt when it walks.
   
3. The lion has eyes in front of its head which enable it to have a correct idea of the location of its prey. This helps it in catching the prey.
4. The lion is light brown in colour. The light brown colour helps the lion to hide in dry grassland (without being noticed) when it hunts for prey.

Adaptation in Deer

The deer is a herbivorous animal which eats only the plant material as food (see Figure). Deer is another animal which lives in forest habitat. The deer is adapted to the forest habitat in the following ways :

1. The deer has eyes on the sides of its head which enable it to see in all directions at the same time. The all round vision of deer helps it to see animals like lion (which kill it), in all the area around it.
   
2. The deer has big ears for good hearing. The big ears help the deer to hear the movements of predators (like lion) very easily.
3. The deer is fast and agile animal. The speed of deer helps it to run away from the predators (like lion) which try to catch it.
4. The deer has brown colour. The brown colour of deer helps it to hide in dry grasslands without being noticed by lion, etc.
5. The deer has strong teeth for chewing hard plant stems of the forest.