How do animals protect themselves? How animals protect themselves from enemies, interesting ways to protect The story of how animals eat and protect themselves

Animal world our planet is huge. And every animal, in order to survive and gain a foothold in this world, is forced to adapt to the conditions in which it lives. Otherwise, it will certainly become the prey of the stronger and stronger.

Coloring, the shape of the body, legs, wings, mouths, beaks are universal means to help get food or hide from enemies. But there are other, important means of defense and attack, which are not characteristic of all, but are inherent only in a certain species or, sometimes, sex of animals.

The short quills of the hedgehog, the strong shell of the tortoise, and the long quills of the porcupine protect their owners from other animals.

In many animals, horns and hooves serve as reliable weapons of defense and attack, especially in moose and deer. An old male moose can sometimes endure a fight with a pack of wolves, inflicting fatal blows on them with horns and sharp hooves.

pay attention to appearance lion. He has a gorgeous, thick mane. What is it for? It turns out that fights often arise among male lions, and thick wool saves them from strong bites relative in the neck. Females do not have such hair.

There is such a simple, seemingly animal, like a ferret. Yes, it is not as simple as it seems. If the ferret is frightened or angry, then it releases a special liquid from the paired glands located under the tail: when evaporated, the liquid emits an extremely unpleasant odor. This repels a possible attacker. The ferret himself leaves unharmed.

Animal protection products also include the ability of some of them to change skin color to match. environment. These are, for example, chameleon lizards, flounder, octopuses, tree frogs.

Warning and imitative coloration, threatening postures, as well as the usual protective coloration, arose for a reason - they developed in the process in the process of evolution.

Animal protection products are both harmless and dangerous properties. Poison glands are an important means of defense and attack. The poison produced in them helps their owners to kill prey, repel the attack of enemies.

Material selection: Iris Revue

INTERMINATION
The hare, as you know, is saved by its long legs. In case of danger, cats arch their backs, rear their fur and hiss to appear scarier than they really are.
This technique is also used by some types of lizards.
DIG HORE
USE THE HELP OF THE NEIGHBORS
Clownfish and hermit crab use the stinging tentacles of sea anemones to defend themselves against enemies. Anemone venom is harmless to them.
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HOW ANIMALS DEFEND FROM ENEMIES
Most animals, even predators, can themselves become prey for other animals, so each species has its own ways of protecting itself from enemies.

MBOU Shumilinskaya secondary school
Teacher Simonova Irina Stefanovna
HIDING
In an effort to divert the attention of enemies, some animals pretend to be dead, and in case of danger, lizards are even ready to sacrifice their wonderful tail (in a few weeks they will grow a new one).
Deer and roe deer hide very well in the forest
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USE PROTECTIVE COLORING
Some animals have a protective coloration or amazing shape help to blend in with their surroundings. And some of them (for example, a chameleon) can even change color to match the environment.

DEFENDED WITH KITS AND HORNS
Strong legs and powerful antlers help the moose fight off even such a dangerous predator as a wolf.
Strong legs and mighty horns help the moose to fight off even such a dangerous predator as
wolf. YAKIs protect themselves from wolves by forming a circle. Zebras and ostriches fight off predators with strong kicks.
REMEMBER!
Animals have claws, teeth, hooves, protective coloration to protect themselves from predators, he is from man and his modern weapons they have no protection.
TAKE CARE OF ANIMALS!
DON'T LET THEM DESTROY!

On the topic: methodological developments, presentations and notes

A selection of information on ways to protect animals. "Used for group work (for independent study and preparation of a message for classmates." To accompany the report, I used ...

Technological map of the lesson "How animals protect themselves"

The lesson of the surrounding world is presented in the form technological map. Throughout the lesson, the children worked in groups. The lesson contributed to the expansion of children's knowledge about the qualifications of animals, which were consolidated earlier...

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Slides captions:

HOW ANIMALS DEFEND FROM ENEMIES Most animals, even predators, can themselves become prey for other animals, so each species has its own ways of protecting itself from enemies.

Ways of protection Escape Camouflage Warning coloration Intimidation Hide in a hole Hit with horns, foot or hoof Carapace Needles

DIG HORE

DEFENSE WITH KITS AND HORN Strong legs and mighty horns help the moose to fight off even such a dangerous predator as a wolf. YAKIs protect themselves from wolves by forming a circle. Zebras and ostriches fight off predators with strong kicks.

The hare, as you know, is saved by its long legs. Fleeing

USE OF PROTECTIVE COLORING For some animals, protective coloring or a surprising shape help them blend in with their surroundings. And some of them (for example, a chameleon) can even change color to match the environment.

Leaf-tailed or satanic gecko (lizard).

Mimic toad.

HIDING In an effort to divert the attention of enemies, some animals pretend to be dead, and in case of danger, lizards are even ready to sacrifice their wonderful tail (in a few weeks it will grow back). yourself new). Deer and roe deer hide very well in the forest.

Like armor - military equipment

USE THE HELP OF THE NEIGHBORS Clownfish and hermit crab use the stinging tentacles of anemones to protect themselves from enemies. Anemone venom is harmless to them.

Frightening Cats arch their backs, rear their fur and hiss in case of danger to appear scarier than they really are. This technique is also used by some types of lizards.

Needles - hedgehog and porcupine

REMEMBER! Animals have claws, teeth, hooves, protective coloration to protect themselves from predators, but they have no protection from man and his modern weapons. TAKE CARE OF ANIMALS! DON'T LET THEM DESTROY!

On the topic: methodological developments, presentations and notes

Presentation "How animals protect themselves"

Additional material for the lesson the world. The presentation clearly shows how to protect wild animals from enemies....

A selection of information on ways to protect animals. "Used for group work (for independent study and preparation of a message for classmates." To accompany the report, I used ...

Meeting with natural enemy usually ends with the death of the animal, therefore, in the process of evolution, only individuals with effective ways protection. How do animals protect themselves from enemies, what protective devices have they acquired in the struggle for survival?

Animals defend themselves in different ways. Some quickly run away, others skillfully hide or disguise themselves, others defend themselves. It all depends on the size of the animal, its lifestyle and the protection organs that Mother Nature has endowed it with. Below are the most interesting ways protection.

How animals protect themselves by running away from enemies

The hare, running away, develops speed up to 70 km / h, but this is not a record. Saiga, gazelles and antelopes are able to run from danger at a speed of 80 km/h. Moreover, some animals are capable of making ultra-long jumps while running: for example, roe deer - up to six meters long, and impala antelope - up to 11 meters in length and up to 3 meters in height.

How animals protect themselves by hiding from enemies

A burrow is the most reliable shelter for an animal, but some animals, such as a fox or a beaver, “guessed” that it would be better if there were two exits from it, remote from each other. And the beaver has an entrance and exit to his "hut" generally under water.

The same applies to such seemingly open shelters as bird nests. So the cayenne swift builds a nest in the form of a tube. One hole in such a nest is a wide and noticeable, but dead-end “entrance” for “strangers”, and the second is a small and inconspicuous entrance for the swift itself.

How animals protect themselves by disguising themselves

The real masters of disguise are insects. So a praying mantis sitting on a bush or tree cannot be distinguished from a twig or a leaf even by the sharp eyes of birds. Some insects even imitate the vibration of plants from the wind with the movements of their body.

The color of the surface of the body of many animals coincides with the main colors of their usual habitat, it is, as they say, protective. It is for the purpose of camouflage that seasonal molt some animals living in the northern hemisphere, such as hares.

How do animals defend themselves by defending themselves?

Animals defend themselves with what they can: teeth, claws (wolves, cats, bears), horns, hooves (moose, deer), needles (hedgehogs, porcupines) and even tails ( catfish). But of particular interest are animals that use chemicals produced by their bodies to protect themselves.

An ordinary ladybug, when attacked or frightened, releases many droplets of an unpleasant-smelling bright yellow liquid called quinenone. Birds do not like the smell of quinenone, they take it for poison and, having grabbed ladybug, they release it immediately.

Southern bombardier beetles secrete a liquid during danger, which instantly evaporates in air with a slight “explosion”, forming a cloud. The beetle is able to do this “trick” several times in a row, and a series of such unexpected “explosions” very often scares off enemies.

Some types of cobras (spitting Indian, African black-necked and collared) defend themselves by sniping poison into the eyes of the enemy. Moreover, the black-necked cobra can do this operation up to twenty times in a row.

How does a skunk defend itself from enemies?

The legendary chemical defense animal is the North American skunk. Defensively, he turns his back to the attacker, raises his tail and waters the enemy with a very unpleasant-smelling secretion of the anal glands.

These secretions literally scare away the aggressor with their smell and, once on any surface, retain their smell for a very long time. For several months, North American motorists cannot wash cars that have fallen under the chemical attack of a skunk.

Some animals defend themselves from enemies by making a menacing appearance, leaving parts of their bodies in the paws of the attacker, or even pretending to be dead. There are many ways to protect, and their effectiveness may be evidenced by the fact that the representative of the fauna using them has not yet disappeared from the lists of the animal world of our planet.

Ecology

They say that the best remedy defense - attack, although some prefer to flee in case of danger, covering their tracks. However, some animals have adapted to defend themselves in completely different ways, more original. Find out what methods of protection some living creatures of our planet have.

1) Possum: The best defense is a coma

Virginian opossum ( Didelphis virginianus), which lives over a fairly large area from Canada to Costa Rica, usually reacts in times of danger in the way that many mammals do: it hisses, growls and shows its teeth. If you touch it, it can hurt to bite. However, in case this does not help and the situation becomes more dangerous, this beast pretends to be dead, it falls to the ground, drools, and then stops moving, remaining with its mouth open. The animal also begins to exhale an eerie, corpse-like odor from its anal glands.

Many predators prefer to eat fresh meat, so when they see already dead, and even a smelly beast, quickly lose interest and leave him alone. But the most interesting thing about this method of protection is that the animal does it unconsciously, this is just a reaction to a strong stressful situation, the opossum runs into coma which can last several hours. The opossum returns to consciousness only after the enemy has disappeared. How his mind knows when to return remains a mystery.

2) Potto: secret sharp weapon

Living in the jungles of Africa, pottos look like cute little bear cubs, but they belong to the primate group. They are nocturnal and feed on tree sap, fruits, and insects. Due to their slow movements, pottos are very vulnerable to danger from predators, so they invented an unusual way of protecting themselves.

Pottos have elongated vertebrae in their necks. These appendages have sharp ends, and animals use them as weapons, because predators that cling to the throat of these primates can choke.

3) Pangolin: better to curl up

Pangolins are very strange mammals, whose bodies are almost completely covered with large scales, so the animal resembles a giant living pine cone. They mainly feed on cones and live in Africa and Asia. Although they have large and powerful claws on their front paws, pangolins rarely use them as weapons. Instead, in case of danger, the animals curl up into a ball, and so tightly that it is almost impossible to unfold them. The sharp edges of the scales allow them to defend themselves against most predators. They can also strike with their powerful and heavy tail, which can severely injure with sharp scales.

And that is not all. Sumatran pangolins can curl up into balls and then roll off high speed from the slopes, so as to hide from the enemy. And the pangolins' last resort is the disgusting smell that the animals emit through the anus. Needless to say, this animal has very few enemies?

4) Armadillo: transformation into a perfect ball

As the name suggests, these animals have a special kind of armor that helps them protect their delicate body, as does the shell of turtles, but in most armadillos, the shell does not help protect against large predators. These animals prefer to burrow into the ground to hide from the enemy. The South American three-banded armadillo is the only species of these creatures that can curl up into a perfect ball. This is possible due to the special structure of the armor, which allows the animal to move freely, and the tail and head perfectly block the "construction". This allows animals to become invulnerable.

With such abilities, a three-banded armadillo does not need to be able to dig well and quickly burrow into the ground, it often "borrows" other people's holes and does not bother digging its own.

5) Crested Porcupine: Saving Quills

An inhabitant of Africa and southern Europe (mainly Italy), the crested porcupine is one of the largest rodents on the planet, as well as one of the creatures that have better protection. Its needles with white and black stripes are seen by predators from a great distance. This is actually modified hair, covered with layers of hard keratin. In the front of the body, the needles are longer; the porcupine can raise its mane in case of danger, thus scaring off the enemy. However, the most dangerous needles are shorter, located on the back. When the animal is threatened by a predator, the porcupine begins to shake its tail with quills, which make a rattling sound, as they are hollow. If that doesn't help, the porcupine tries to stab with its quills on its back.

Porcupine quills break quite easily once they enter an enemy's body. The tiny burrs push them deeper into the body of the enemy, so predators can die from wounds, infection, or because the needles damage blood vessels or internal organs. AT North America porcupines also live, but they are usually much smaller than their African relatives and most spend time in trees. Interestingly, porcupines have very powerful natural antibiotics in their blood. They often fall from trees while searching for food and can get hurt by their own quills. If they did not have such protection, most porcupines would die from self-inflicted wounds during such falls, but nature took everything into account!

6) Pygmy sperm whale: muddy water

Unlike its more famous relative - giant sperm whale, which can reach 20 meters in length, the rarer pygmy sperm whale is only 1.2 meters long. This makes it especially vulnerable to the enemy - sharks and killer whales. For its own protection, this sperm whale uses an unusual method: it secretes a stream of reddish, syrup-like liquid from the anus, and then with the help of its tail stirs it into the water, resulting in a large dark cloud. This allows the sperm whale to gain time and, while the predator tries to see at least something in the "fog", the animal quickly hides in the depths of the ocean, swimming away to a safe distance.

Among mammals, this method of protection is not so common. Usually mollusks resort to it - squid and octopus, which, ironically, are the main delicacy for this sperm whale.

7) Dormouse: it is better to lose a tail than a head

These small edible rodents are found in Europe, some of their species can also be found in Africa and Asia. Usually, sleepyheads flee from enemies, but they have one more trick in their arsenal, which they use in extreme cases. The skin on the dormice's tail dangles freely, and if a predator grabs the rodent by the tail, the skin is easily separated, allowing the mouse to escape. This is a type of autotomy where the animal loses a body part for protection. Autotomy is often seen among reptiles, such as lizards shedding their tails, or among invertebrates, but this is a very rare occurrence among mammals.

Unlike other animals, dormouse can use the trick only once. Exposed bones without skin usually fall off, or are bitten off by the dormouse itself, because the skin cannot be restored and a new tail, like in lizards, does not grow in them. Some species of dormouse have fluffy tails that act as bait, attracting the attention of a predator and distracting it from the animal's head.

8) Skunk: chemical attack

Everyone is familiar with skunks and their original method of protection, their chemical weapon extraordinarily powerful. The skunk's protective fluids are produced by a pair of glands located near the anus. Although many carnivorous predators also have such glands, especially members of the mustelid family, the glands of skunks are more developed, and they have powerful muscles that allow them to spray a smelly liquid up to 3 meters away.

Skunks also prefer to spray it directly into the face of the enemy, and this liquid is so poisonous that it can deprive the poor fellow of sight, including a person, so it is better not to touch the skunks out of harm's way. Because of their unique abilities skunks have made very few enemies, the most dangerous for them is the virgin eagle owl, which is devoid of smell and can attack a skunk unexpectedly from above. The poor skunk does not have time to catch himself, as it turns out to be dead.

The method of protection with a smelly liquid is a last resort, since the skunk has a limited supply of this liquid, and it takes about 10 days for the glands to recover.

9) Platypus: poisonous spurs

A strange creature, the platypus, which was once considered fiction, as well as the only mammal nowadays, which lays eggs, also has unique defenses. The male platypus has a sharp, retractable spine on each hind leg that contains venom glands. If the platypus is caught by an enemy or a curious ignoramus, it stabs with its spikes, injecting enough venom to escape. Although platypus venom can kill animals as large as dogs, it is not fatal to humans. However, the feeling of this is not pleasant. Those stung claimed that it was such severe pain that they did not experience anything like it, and the effect of the poison could last for several days. Pain can lead to fainting.

Interestingly, only male platypuses have poisonous spines; females cannot harm other creatures, with the exception of small invertebrates that they feed on. This suggests that the venomous spikes were originally an intraspecific weapon used by males against each other during the breeding season to ward off rivals.

10) Slender Loris: Poison Fur

This nocturnal animal lives in tropical forests South-East Asia. Lori has an average body length of 35 centimeters and feeds on various small animals that he manages to catch, and can also drink tree sap. Due to their small size and slowness, lorises are very vulnerable in the face of the enemy, so they have developed original way protection. Slender lorises have venom glands on their elbows, making them a poisonous primate. Moreover, the animal licks the poison that these glands produce and spreads it throughout its coat. Female slender lorises apply their venom to the body of their cubs before they go hunting and leave them alone.

Since the animals lick off the poison, their bite also becomes poisonous, so it is especially painful and causes swelling. Some people have died from anaphylactic shock after being bitten by a slender loris, although the venom itself is not fatal to humans and large animals.