Animal Adaptation

How does an animal adapt to its environment in order to survive?  Well, a beaver is quite specialized for wet and cold conditions:

• Beavers have orange colored teeth because they utilize extra minerals and iron.
• If a beaver didn't continually chew, its teeth would grow until it seriously damaged the beaver itself.
• Beavers have two kinds of fur - guard hair for keeping water away and fleece for keeping it warm.
• They have clear eyelids to see better under water and in muddy conditions.
• Ear flaps and nose flaps keep water and cold temperatures from bothering the beavers.
• Webbed feet allow the beavers to swim better. 
• The tail helps with balance and is used to slap the water to warn other beavers of danger. 

Of course, our adaptations left a little to be desired, but we had a lot of fun.  Hands-on learning always makes the concepts and scientific principles really stick.