Astin's Adaptation Essay

Astin has finished his animal adaptation essay already - have a read if you need a bit of helping thinking of what sort of things to write about. Great job Astin!

Animal Adaptations

The world is a jigsaw of environments. Occupying various habitats, animals have changed over generations in order to survive within their territory, or have adapted to their surroundings. Snow littered peaks, dry grass carpeted savannahs and dense rainforest, animals have made exceptional physical and behavioural transformations to accommodate their homes.

In the Central Asian mountain range a species of big cat has made remarkable adaptions to survive the arctic climate where it dwells. The snow leopard is very well adapted to its home. Its silver black spotted coat of fur blends in with the snow to maximize camouflage. It also has an enhanced nasal cavity and a big chest so it can breathe in high altitudes. The snow leopard’s eyesight is excellent and can spot prey from long distances. Snow leopard’s paws are cushioned by fur to stop them from getting torn on sharp rocks. The ears of this creature can flatten to prevent frostbite and its tail is used to balance while bounding at speeds of 40 miles per hour. But the most amazing attribute is how far it can jump. The snow leopard has a great muscular build and its powerful hind legs can propel the beast up to 15 meters in the air-six times its body length. The snow leopard has made many fitting changes for its habitat in the mountains.

Corallus caninus, more commonly known as the emerald tree boa, is another example of remarkable adaption. It resides in the rainforests of South America where it lingers in the trees waiting for prey. Like the snow leopard, the boa’s green scales blend in with the vegetation of the rainforest so well it’s virtually invisible to unsuspecting prey. Emerald tree boas also have an athletic build. Their long and extraordinarily strong bodies are built to kill. Boas are constrictors, they have strengthened muscles to squeeze their victims until their blood pressure is too high, ultimately killing their prey. Their fangs are relatively long and are known to snatch birds while they’re flying by. Emerald tree boas have brilliant eyesight and can see when it’s pitch black, their pupils grow exceptionally big to let in the available light.  But what makes the emerald tree boa a successful predator is two pits on the side of its diamond shaped head. These pits are able to detect heat produced by prey and can also locate where the heat is generated. With this useful information the boa can react as soon as the animal is in range. Emerald tree boas are efficient killers due to all their numerous adaptions.

In Greek these gentle giants’ name means ‘Water Horse’. Hippopotamuses are situated in the savannahs of Africa where they wallow in the mud. They have made many changes to suit the dry environment. Hippo’s eyes, ears and nostrils are positioned strategically so they can breathe, see and hear while the rest of their body is submerged. They also have the power to close their nostrils while under water and a clear membrane concealing their eyes allows them to see under water as well. Due to the lack of sweat glands, pores on hippo’s skin produce a red substance. This keeps the beast constantly moist and prevents sunburn. Hippos have carefully constructed webbed feet which helps with swimming and supporting its enormous weight when walking on land. The canine and incisor teeth of the hippos are very intimidating and are used for fighting.  They can grow up to 40 centimetres and are kept constantly sharp by rubbing the upper canines against the lower canines. All these adaptions help the hippopotamus survive the barren grasslands of the savannah.

All three animals have adapted extremely well to survive in their own different environment. From muscular hind legs to heat sensitive pits, animals all around the world have made remarkable adaptions.      

By Astin