Step 1: Quick lookThe truth about.. adaptation
What is adaptation?
When people hear the word adapt, one of the first things that comes to mind is "fitting in." People are always having to adapt or change to different situations or places.
For animals, including people, adaptation is often a matter of life or death! If they don't adapt in certain ways to their surroundings, they will not survive. Humans even use technology to adapt. Think of the space suits used by astronauts to control their temperature and for breathing so they can survive space travel.
An adaptation is a special skill which helps an animal to survive and do everything it needs to do. Adaptations could be physical changes to the animals body or behavioural changes.
Did you know...? Meerkats have dark circles round their eyes, which act like sunglasses, helping them see even when the sun is shining very brightly.
Aye-ayes (or ‘vingerdiertje’) have a number of adaptations for nocturnal living (they tend to come out at night). They have big eyes and ears to help them see and hear well in the dark. They also have special thin fingers to help them find bugs to eat.