Lynne Cherry

Discuss the different kinds of habitat that animals need in order to survive.

Your habitat is your home. Humans are fortunate because we can live in a variety of habitats and in many different climates. We can put on or take off layers of clothes to make ourselves warmer or cooler. We can build houses and heat and cool them.

But animals with fur coats cannot take them off. Wild animals require a particular habitat in which to survive and if that habitat disappears--if it is destroyed for a housing development, or flooded to make a lake or otherwise disturbed, often the animals that live there cannot survive.

So, it is very important to preserve the habitat that animals need to survive.

Discuss the things that animals need to survive i.e. water, food and a place to live.
What kind of habitat do humans need to live? Why are the polar regions so sparsely populated? Where do you think it is easiest for people to live?

*The little girl sleeps with turtles in a swamp. This is a wetland. Discuss the importance of wetlands. Take a look at the Wetlands issue of Nature's Course by clicking on the link below.