Animal Adaptations: engineered By Nature

Animal Adaptations: engineered By Nature by Louise Spilsbury               Hardback Book: 32 pages                  

Good book showing features that animals have on their bodies to protect them from predators.    Examples shown and discussed are:  the frilled lizard which isn’t all that intimidating to look at so to scare off its would be predators this lizard gives off a menacing hiss then is able to billow out the frill of skin that hangs like a cowl around its neck.   When fully billowed out this creature stands up on its back legs and surprisingly can run like the wind!  It is a pretty spectacular looking sight and I imagine to a would be predator rather monstrous looking.   Kind of like a small dinosaur is chasing you but with all the fluff and standing to make itself taller and wider with the billowing neck frill this lizard looks pretty tough.      The gentle armadillo with his natural body armour looks like a little tank.   This baby can roll up in a ball and predators play heck trying to open it like a tin can.   Not happening.   The Walrus whose tusks look pretty scary and definetly come in handy in a fight with other males over females can also use the tusks as a tool, which I didn’t realize, for traction and to scoot his formidable self across the ice.  The scorpion has developed body armour over itself too.   Predators have a tough time biting through it and in the process can get pricked by that spike on the end of its tail that shoots its victim full of venom a trait it has from birth.   The puffer fish when scared can blow up like a balloon to look bigger and the spikes on its body is a handy extra defense against predators.   The flatfish is the chameleon of the sea.   It lives on the ocean floor and can change color and adapt with the sand and rocks found there.    Good for hiding from predators because it blends in so well and good for catching food as it is basically invisible once it blends in.    The leafy sea dragon has great camouflage.    It just looks like a bunch of seaweed or plants floating along in a wad but it is actually this amazing fish – bizarre – but astounding and one of the many wonders in this world.   Tarsier’s have eyes as big as their brains and can see very well in the dark not to mention the fancy trick they have of being able to turn their heads 180 degrees!   How cool would that be to have neck bones flexible enough to do that?    Thorny devils another type of lizard that lives in the desert where there is little moisture.   This lizard has spikes developed in such a pattern that it can use them to rub up against plants collecting dew on its spinky back which then the drops of dew run down the path on its body between the spikes running along groves that miraculously carry the bits of water righ down into its mouth like running on a track.  Nature is incredible!!   The flying squirrel doesn’t actually fly like Superman, but, glides and can do so up to 165 feet.   Not too shabby.    With its tail acting like a rudder to steer it these squirrels can cover a lot of graound safely and how fun must that be to soar through the trees like that?  Elephants trunks come in so handy.   Their trunk is used for picking up things, searching for food above its head and used like a tool in some situations.   Of course, the trunk is also a mechanism for the animal to breath through and comes in mighty handy while taking a dip in the local pond, river or whatever water source by serving as a snorkel so the elephants can actually go for a swim in the deep end of the pool.   Fennec foxes, while the smallest fox in the world has really huge ears like a rabbit to not only hear well but the ears also serve to keep its body temp lowered by helping it lose body heat through them.   Pretty good thing for an animal living in the dessert.       Excellent book, showing how different and unique animals are just like people and how they use their attributes, talents and skills to get by in their environments.    There are so many life lessons to be drawn here.     I do recommend this book and lots of discussion while reading it.