How do the behaviors of Animals Help Them Meet Their

Needs?

Lesson 2

Some people call beluga whales the canaries of the sea. Beluga song can be heard above the water! Young belugas learn how to survive by watching adult belugas.

Lesson 2 Vocabulary1. Instinct— an inherited behavior that helps

an animal meet its needs.

2. Hibernation— a dormant, inactive state in which normal body activities slow.

3. Migration— animals moving as a group from one region to another and back.

4. Learned behavior— Behaviors that were taught to an animal and help it meet its needs.

Lesson 2 (Page 106)

•Some animals know how to protect themselves from the weather.

•All of these behaviors are instincts—behaviors that animals begin life with that help them meet their needs.

•When you were born you already knew how to get milk and how to cry. Animals already know things, too.

•A spider knows how to spin a web to catch food!

Instincts!

Lesson 2 (Page 107)• Some animals live where winters are very cold.

Many of them know by instinct how to get ready for winter.

• First, they eat more food than normal, so they can gain fat.

• Then, they find dens or build shelters.

• When the days become short and cold, the animals move to their shelters and enter a dormant, inactive state called hibernation.

Lesson 2 (Page 107)

• During hibernation:

1. Normal body activities slow

2. Heart barely beats

3. Breathing almost stops

4. Body temperature drops to just above freezing.

HIBERNATION

Hibernation Video

Lesson 2 (Page 107)A woodchuck digs a winter burrow. Its body temperature drops from 36°C (97°F) to less than 8°C (47°F).

HIBERNATION

Migration Video

Lesson 2 (Page 108)• Every year, people gather to

watch whales. People also like to watch caribou travel. It’s possible when to predict when to watch whales and caribou, because they travel around the same time every year.

• Migrate means “to move from one region to another.”

• Migration is an instinctive behavior. Generally, animals migrate to a place that has more food and a better climate.

Migration

Lesson 2 (Page 110)• Many animals have only instinctive

behaviors to help them meet their needs. But some animals also have learned behaviors.

• What instincts did you have when you were born?

• Did you learn how to eat, drink, and sleep?

• What behaviors have you learned?

• You learned to walk and feed yourself. Now you can write and play sports.

Lesson 2 (Page 110)• Most of your behaviors are learned.

Who helped you learn these things? Older animals usually teach young animals learned behaviors.

• Most mammals raise their young. Mammal mothers usually teach their young how to get food and how to protect themselves.

• Some animals can be trained to change their behaviors. Example: Dogsbarking.

Lesson 2 Review!1. Instinct— an inherited behavior that helps

an animal meet its needs.

2. Hibernation— a dormant, inactive state in which normal body activities slow.

3. Migration— animals moving as a group from one region to another and back.

4. Learned behavior— Behaviors that were taught to an animal and help it meet its needs.