LET’S FIND OUT ANIMAL LIFE HOW HAVE ANIMALS EVOLVED AND ADAPTED JENNIFER A SWANSON
WHAT ARE EVOLUTION AND ADAPTATION The Arctic fox may have evolved from ancient foxes that lived in the mountains of Tibet Have you ever noticed how many different plants and animals live on Earth They come in all shapes sizes and colors They live in all kinds of places How did so many different living things come to be Scientists believe that plants and animals and other forms of life went through a process called evolution Evolution is the idea that all living things that exist today developed from earlier types 4
Traits are qualities that make one living thing different from another VOCABULARY Animals such as walrus hippopotamuses and ducks developed traits to adapt to their environments Evolution takes place over thousands or millions of years Evolution happens because habitats or the places where living things usually dwell change over long periods of time The environment or surroundings may become warmer or colder or it may change from a swampy area to a desert Living things must adapt to survive as their surroundings change They adapt by developing new traits For example an animal may have better eyesight or move faster than another animal of its kind These traits may help it to find food more efficiently and to avoid its enemies Such useful traits give the animal an advantage over others of its kind 5
