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Animals - Glossary
Warm-blooded
Animals that can control their own body temperature so it stays the ...
Vertebrate
An animal with a backbone and an internal skeleton. Fish, amphibians, ...
Territory
An area which an animal or group of animals 'owns' and defends ...
Primates
The group of mammals that includes monkeys, apes and man. Their ...
Predator
A hunting animal that kills other animals for food.
Placental mammal
The young develop fully inside the mother's body before they are born.
Omnivore
Animals that eat both plants and meat.
Nocturnal
Animals such as bats that are active at night when they hunt for food ...
Monotreme
A mammal which lays eggs such as the duck-billed platypus and spiny ...
Migration
A return journey made by some mammals every year to a place for ...
Marsupial
Mammals with pouches. Their young are born tiny and ill-formed. They ...
Hibernation
A deep sleep or time of inactivity to save energy during the cold, ...
Herbivore
An animal such as an elephant that mostly or only eats plants.
Habitat
The type of place an animal lives in, for example, desert, jungle, ...
Gestation
The length of time of a mammal's pregnancy.
Extinct
Animals that no longer exist. They become officially extinct if there ...
Evolution
Animals gradually change over a very long time to become better ...
Endangered
Animals in danger of becoming extinct or dying out.
Conservation
Protecting rare animals from becoming extinct.
Carnivore
An animal that only or mainly eats meat.
Camouflage
Some mammals have special colouring or markings which help disguise ...
Aestivation
A time of inactivity or deep sleep to save energy and keep cool ...
Adaptation
Special characteristics to help animals survive. For example, Arctic ...