The World of Animals — Class 6 Science (Samacheer Kalvi)
TN State Board (Samacheer Kalvi) Class 6 Science, Term 1 — Chapter 5. How animals are adapted to where they live.
1. About this chapter
This chapter covers adaptation in animals of different habitats, migration, aestivation, and the protection of animals (sanctuaries).
2. Adaptation
- Adaptation is a special feature or behaviour that helps an animal survive in its habitat.
- Aquatic animals: a fish has fins for swimming and gills to breathe in water (fish : water :: elephant : land).
- Desert animals: the camel is called the "ship of the desert" — it can live for many days without drinking water and passes only a small amount of urine to save water.
- Aerial animals: birds have wings and hollow, light bones for flight.
- Snowy-region animals have thick fur to keep warm.
3. Migration and aestivation
- Migration is the movement of animals to a different place due to seasonal change (e.g. birds flying to a warmer place in winter).
- Aestivation is spending a hot, dry period in an inactive state (a kind of summer sleep).
4. Protecting animals
- Sanctuaries protect wildlife. Vedanthangal (in Tamil Nadu) is a famous bird sanctuary.
5. Worked examples
Example 1. Why is the camel called the ship of the desert? Because it can travel long distances in the desert without water.
Example 2. What is migration? The movement of animals to another place due to seasonal change.
Example 3. What is Vedanthangal? A bird sanctuary in Tamil Nadu.
6. Book-back questions (Samacheer Kalvi)
I. Choose the correct answer
- Vedanthangal is a — (a) zoo / (b) bird sanctuary. Ans: (b) bird sanctuary.
- The movement of animals to a different place due to seasonal change is called — (a) migration / (b) hibernation. Ans: (a) migration.
- The animal that can live many days without drinking water is the — (a) fish / (b) camel. Ans: (b) camel.
II. Fill in the blanks 4. Fish : water :: elephant : land. 5. A fish has fins for swimming. 6. The camel is called the ship of the desert.
III. True or False 7. The movement of animals to different places due to seasonal change is called adaptation. — False (it is migration). 8. Spending the hot and dry period in an inactive state is known as aestivation. — True.
IV. Answer briefly 9. How is a camel adapted to the desert? — It can go long without water and passes little urine, with long legs and padded feet for the sand. 10. What is aestivation? — Spending a hot, dry period in an inactive (resting) state.
7. Common mistakes
- Mistake: Calling seasonal movement "adaptation". Fix: Seasonal movement to another place is migration.
- Mistake: Confusing aestivation and hibernation. Fix: Aestivation is rest in the hot/dry season; hibernation is rest in winter.
- Mistake: Thinking all animals breathe the same way. Fix: Each habitat needs special adaptations (fins/gills in water, wings in air).
8. Quick revision
- Term 1 · Ch 5 · the world of animals.
- Adaptation = features for survival; fish (fins, water), camel ("ship of the desert", saves water), birds (wings, hollow bones).
- Migration = seasonal movement to another place; aestivation = inactive state in the hot/dry period.
- Vedanthangal is a bird sanctuary in Tamil Nadu.
