Different animals have different habits, living and behaviour. Many of the animals live and move in groups. They move in search of food and water.
For example: elephants, buffaloes, goats and cows move in groups. The wild dogs and wolves move and hunt in packs.
Groups of Animals
Animals which have the habit of moving in groups often have a leader that leads and others follow it. When the camels move together, the biggest and the oldest camel leads the group and the others follow.
Some animals enjoy moving around alone. You might have observed that the dogs and cats roam alone. The dogs usually do not like other dogs to enter their territory.
Kaziranga National Park is in Assam. The elephants moving in herds are a regular sight in this park. The oldest female leads the group and protects the other members. Groups of zebras, horses, cows, buffaloes and wild beasts are called herds.
Tigers and lions are found in prides. In a pride, there are one or two lions and several lionesses with their cubs. A lioness always leads the pride which is on hunt. If one lioness is unable to hunt, some other lioness helps to find the prey.
A group of chimpanzees, monkeys or gorillas is called a band or a troop. You might have noticed the monkeys jumping in troops in jungles, around temples and in parks. The families of monkeys, chimpanzees or gorillas live in large groups which may go even up to 100 in number. Usually, the babies move around with the mother. They communicate with each other with their facial expressions and the special noises they make. They give danger warnings to the troop.
In the oceans, rivers and ponds, the fish swim in groups called school. A group of owls is called a parliament. These birds communicate by screeching and hooting. They also signal by their body movements.
Ants and bees are social insects. There is division of work among different members. Ants live and move in a community called colony. When an ant finds food it communicates to other ants and they together drag the food to the ant hole. They also give danger signals to the rest of the members of the colony. Like bees, they too have a queen. The queen is much larger in size than others.
Bees flying in a group are known as swarm. They live in a hive. In a beehive, there is a queen, workers and male bees called drones. Drones are lazy bees and they do not work. The queen lays eggs. The workers collect and bring nectar from flowers. The sweet liquid found in flowers is called nectar. This is the food for honeybees and for their young ones. When a bee finds nectar it dances around the flower and signals the other bees.
Behaviour of Animals
Shy Animals
Squirrel, mouse, rabbit, crow, sparrow and many other birds feel shy when they see people around them. They come to take food when there is silence and no one is near. Most of these animals shy away or run away due to fear.
Friendly Animals
Farm animals like ducks, pigs and goats are friendly in nature. Pet animals like dogs and cats too are friendly. They are not afraid of people. Dolphins are very friendly sea animals.
Helpful Animals
Birds like egrets ride on the backs of buffaloes, hippos, elephants and zebras to pick up ticks as food from their bodies.
Remora is a small fish which eats insects lying on a shark’s body by sticking on to the shark’s body.
A crocodile opens its mouth and invites a bird called plover to clean its teeth. The crocodile remains still while the plover picks meat leftovers from its Plover cleaning crocodile’s teeth mouth. This cleans the crocodile’s teeth and prevents infection. The bird also gets a small meal.
Animals and Their Ears
Different animals have different kinds of ears. Elephants have large ears whereas giraffes, cows, buffaloes and donkeys have long ears. Some have small ears.
For example, the hippopotamus has small external ears. Most of the animals have external ears though they vary in shape and size.
Some animals have internal ears. If you observe a cock, it just has a hole externally. Many other birds too have similar type of ears and they are covered with feathers. Lizards also have internal ears.
Snakes have no ears; but they are very sensitive to the vibrations on the ground.
Hair of Animals
Most of the animals have fur on their bodies. Some have long fur and others have short. Observe a lion.
It has long hairs on its body. A cow has short hairs on its body. Hair protects the body and also gives design and colour to the animal.
Some animals like crocodiles, snakes and fishes have scales on their bodies. Some others like whales, sharks, frogs and toads have thick skin. Other animals like tortoises and oysters have hard shell to protect their bodies.
Our Responsibility
Showing love and care towards animals is very important. They help us in many ways. We should admire them because they look beautiful. Learn from them, how to live together and how to help each other in all situations. Like bees, be generous to share the best you have.
Some greedy people kill animals for trade. Hence, some animals like tigers and lions are reducing in number. If they continue to hunt them for money, they will, one day, vanish from Earth.
Let us decide not to harm animals but to protect them. It is our responsibility to take care of the animals, both big and small.
