24 Animals and Habitats: Supplemental Guide 1A | What Is a Habitat?
Show image 1A-6: Arctic landscape^9
This is a picture of a place called the Arctic. Do you think you
could live easily in the Arctic with its very cold temperatures and
snow-covered ground? Not many things can live there, but later
I’m going to show you some incredible plants and animals that do
live in the Arctic.
Show image 1A-7: Several places where people have made habitats^10
Most animals have to live in habitats that are specifi c to them.
But you human beings are very clever: you can build habitats for
yourselves! If you want to live in the desert, where there isn’t much
water with which to grow food or to drink, you can build a pipeline
to bring you water for watering crops or for drinking. You can have
food transported to the desert by road or rail because it would be
diffi cult to grow food in the desert, and you can build houses for
shelter so you don’t have to sleep in the sand.^11 In fact, people
like you have been able to live in extremely hot, cold, and dry
places.
Show image 1A-8: Earth
We’re going on an adventure that will take us all over our
amazing planet Earth. Over the next several weeks, I’m going to
show you some fascinating animal and plant habitats that might
be quite different from yours. You’ll see some wonderful and
unusual places where things can live.
Show image 1A-9: Rattenborough packing his gearI can’t wait to show you all these interesting places, but fi rst
I have a lot to pack. Because we’re going all over the world,
I’m going to need a backpack full of gear. So hold on to your
whiskers—I mean hats—and get ready for a marvelous adventure!10 What do you see in this picture?
11 You heard about ancient Egyptians
and Mesopotamians living in the
desert in the Middle East. How did
they farm, grow crops, and survive
in the desert? (built canals to bring
water from nearby rivers)
9 What do you see in this picture?