Animal Behavior

Why do animals move? To stalk for food Fighting for territory Climb for food migration mating

Catch Food Owl swooping on a mouse

Catch Food Bees fly to get nectar from a flower

Catch Food Koala bears climb trees to get to eucalyptus leaves.

Catch Food Jellyfish harpoon and lasso prey.

Catch food Chimpanzee uses tools.

How to avoid being eaten? At any given moment, an animal diner can become another animals dinner! What does that mean?

Animals looking for food often have to think about other things besides which food looks or tastes the best. They have to pass on a good meal if getting it is too dangerous.

Some animals hide out. Rabbit freezes

Some Mimic Mimics a rock Caterpillar camouflaged as a twig! Mimic the environment Mimics the leaves

Some are in your face with warnings Spines of a porcupine Horns of a bull These signal trouble to a potential predator!

Some use chemicals Bombardier beetle Skunk Bees, ants, & wasps inject a powerful acid into their attackers.

Some have deadly toxins Black-headed Pitohui bird Poison dart frogs

Weird Science The pitohui is one of the few poisonous birds. This is not the only unusual thing about this colorful, foul-smelling bird, however. The poison that the bird emits—homobatrachotoxin—is the same poison made by the New World strawberry dart-poison frog. How can two species that are so different produce the same poison? Scienctists are now exploring the mystery!!

Brain Food

Warning Colors Many times poisonous animals use color to WARN predators of their poison.

Warning colors Wasp Predators will avoid animals with colors and patterns that they associate with pain, illness or an unpleasant experience. Most common warning colors are vivid red, yellow, orange, and black with white. Poison frog

Innate Behavior Doesn’t depend on learning. Doesn’t depend on experiences. They are influenced by our genes. Our ability to walk Puppies chew Fly is born to fly.

Baby whales have the ability to swim.

Innate behavior can be modified by learning Innate behavior can be modified by learning. Birds are born with the ability to sing, but it takes time for the skill to develop

Animal school Learning can modify an innate behavior We inherit the ability to speak, but the language we speak is learned. Many animals learn by watching their parents.