mammals

Mammals

There are more than 4 600 different species of mammals around the world. They are found on land, in water and even in the air.

Mammals can live in most habitats. Gerbils live in hot deserts and polar bears live in the ice cold arctic. Mammals have some hair or fur on their bodies and they can control their own body temperature.

They eat a wide range of foods in their diets. Carnivores eat meat and hunt for their food. Herbivores only eat plants. Mammals vary in size from the tiniest bat to the largest whale. Mammals are often threatened by predators. Some use horns or antlers, show their teeth, or make loud sounds to scare predators away.

Instead of laying eggs like most other groups, mammals give birth to young that are well formed and in many species they are up and walking within a few hours of birth. Pouched mammals or marsupials like kangaroos have a specially adapted pouch for the young. Mammals are the only animals that feed their young on milk.

Whales and dolphins are sea mammals which are specially adapted to live underwater in oceans and rise to the surface to breathe.

mammals