Mammals of North america Notes
Mammal is the name given to any warm-blooded animal that has hair on its body, gives birth to live babies, and produces milk to feed its young. This group includes humans.
These physical features mean that mammals are much better equipped than other animals for survival. Mammals change the food they eat into heat which the blood carries around the body. The mammal is therefore able to keep its body at a constant temperature no matter what the surrounding weather. The hair or fur on its body helps to hold in the heat in cold weather. Many mammals also have sweat glands which cools the skin and take heat away, allowing them to live in hot places. Every species of mammal has other special physical features that help them survive.
Unlike other animals, mammals can be found in many different habitats. In North America habitats vary from snow in the north to forests and deserts further south. Some mammals live in burrows, some live in trees, while others wander freely through the wilderness. They will usually establish a home range or territory from which they will discourage other groups or members of their species.
Mammals must eat all the time because they need fuel to burn to keep up their body temperature. Some eat meat, some eat only plants, and some eat both. They have a selection of food that they eat and they have worked out ways to go about collecting it. Some species are better at doing this than others and find it easier to survive.
All mammal species have very strong instincts to reproduce. They have a mating season during which the males will fight over the females. In many cases only the strongest males get to mate which means that the babies born are strong and more likely to survive. If the species is small in size and easily caught by predators they usually have a greater number of babies to make sure that some survive. Most mammal babies grow inside the mother for many months. When the baby is born it is fed from mammary glands which deliver milk directly into the mouth of the young.
Most animals act on instinct but mammals have the ability to learn. They are able to recognise each other and talk to each other. Because of this many mammals live in social groups or families and have rules that must be followed. Because they are fed on their mothers' milk, young mammals have a much longer childhood than other young animals that have to find their own food. This means they have the chance to copy and learn adult behaviour.
Every species preys on other species but may also end up as food themselves. Over time, species work out how to recognise predators and avoid being eaten. Predators will often look for weak or sick animals to attack. Getting rid of these weak animals is nature’s way of keeping a species fit and healthy so that it will be able to cope with changes in the future.
Mammals always compete with each other for space especially with humans. Most large mammals cannot live in the places that man creates such as cities. Natural habitats are constantly shrinking as the human population increases and man needs more space for his activities. Man has also managed to threaten many mammal species through hunting for food and sport or because the species is considered a nuisance. In some cases species have become extinct because man has introduced species into a habitat and destroyed the balance of nature.
NOTES:
All Mammal species have very strong instincts to reproduce
Mammals are much better equipped than other animals for survival
Mammals change the food they eat into heat which the blood carries around the body
Mammals have to eat all the time so that they need fuel to keep the body temperature warn
All Mammals have a different species
Young mammals have a much longer childhood than other young animals
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