How Animals Get Food and Shelter
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What you will learn
- 1Describe how animals get food and shelter
- 2Classify animals as herbivores, carnivores, or omnivores
- 3Identify common animal shelters
Mini Lesson
Just like you need lunch and a home, every animal needs food for energy and shelter to stay safe. Different animals have very different ways of getting both!
What animals eat — three groups
- Herbivores eat only plants — grass, leaves, seeds, and fruit. Examples: rabbit, deer, cow.
- Carnivores eat only other animals. Examples: lion, eagle, spider.
- Omnivores eat both plants and animals. Examples: bear, human, crow.
Types of animal shelter
- Animals build or find places to stay safe, warm, and dry and to raise their young.
- Birds build nests of twigs, grass, and mud; rabbits dig burrows; bears use caves; bees build hives.
Food and shelter work together
- Animals usually live close to their food source — a deer lives in a meadow near grass; a fish stays in a river where it can catch smaller fish.
- An animal’s body shape and teeth help it get the food it needs — sharp teeth for meat, flat teeth for plants.
Words to know
Herbivore
An animal that eats only plants
e.g. rabbit, deer, cow
Carnivore
An animal that eats only other animals
e.g. lion, eagle, spider
Omnivore
An animal that eats both plants and animals
e.g. bear, human, crow
Shelter
A safe place where an animal lives and raises its young
e.g. nest, burrow, cave, hive
Ask yourself: Is this animal a herbivore, carnivore, or omnivore? What kind of shelter does it build or find?
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