Animals All Around By Christa Joy, MEd, DVM Photos from: freedigitalphotos.net
Some animals like to live in and around the salty ocean.
Some animals like to live in and around the freshwater of a river, lake or pond.
Although the animals are similar in both places, there are important differences.
Just like different fish lived in the ocean than in the lake,
Birds that live by the ocean are different than ones that live by a lake.
Bears that live by the ocean are different than ones that live by a lake.
Even the turtles are different depending on if you are by the ocean or by a pond.
Let’s look at some of these different animals and see how they are the same yet different.
First let’s look at the birds.
Penguins, pelicans and seagulls are birds that live by the ocean.
These birds eat fish that live in the salty water.
They have thick feathers and a layer of fat to keep them warm.
They have short legs so they are closer to the food they hunt in the sand.
Blue herons and egrets are birds that live by bodies of freshwater.
These birds eat fish that live in the lake or pond water.
They have thinner feathers and less fat to keep them cool.
They have long legs so they are do not sink in the mud.
Turtles also live in the ocean as well as lakes and ponds.
Sea turtles are larger and have very large flippers to swim through the strong ocean currents.
They also use these large flippers to dig a hole in the sand to lay their eggs.
Box turtles live by lakes and ponds and spend very little time under the water.
They are smaller and eat the plants and bugs that live around this freshwater.
Bears live around salty oceans as well as by freshwater rivers and lakes.
They both eat fish and other animals they find in the water they live by.
Polar bears are very large and live on the ice packs and icebergs in the Arctic ocean.
Polar bears are white and have a very thick layer of fat to keep them warm.
Brown bears also have a fat layer, but it is not as thick.
Brown bears are excellent at catching fish in the fast running river.
Some animals can live in both places.
Animals from the crocodile family are this way.
Some crocodiles live in the salty ocean.
Some alligators live in the freshwater swamps.
Animals live all around the salty ocean.
Animals live all around the freshwater lakes, ponds, and rivers.
There are animals all around us.