Animals and plants have developed various protective characteristics and behaviors to defend themselves against enemies and extreme weather conditions. Animals use characteristics like bad smells, stings, fangs, spines, camouflage, thick fur and shells. They also use behaviors such as curling up, pretending to be dead, releasing ink, or living in groups. Plants protect themselves with thorns, hairs, poison, thick bark, waxy leaves, shedding leaves or adapting to different climates. Both animals and plants have adapted over time to survive threats in their environments.

1. UNIT 3 : ANIMALS AND PLANTS PROTECT THEMSELVES
SUBTOPIC MAJOR POINTS MINOR POINTS SUPPORTING POINTS 1 SUPPORTING POINTS 2
Animals against Enemies Special
characteristics
- Bad smell
- Sting
- Fangs
- Sharp spines
- Camouflage
- Hard scales
- Thick fur
- Hard shells
- Strong and sharp horns
- Long legs and strong
muscles
- Sharp claws
- Good eyesight and
hearing
1) Bad smell
- Some animals produce strong and bad smell to
keep their enemies away.
- Ex: cockroaches, skunks, beetles, bed bugs
2) Stings
- Some insects have stings to defend themselves
from enemies.
- Bees and wasps have stings that can weaken their
enemies.
- Scorpions and centipedes have poisonous stings
that can kill their enemies.
3) Fangs
- Snakes have poisonous fangs to protect
themselves and kill their enemies.
- Snakes produce venom when biting.
4) Sharp spines
- Porcupines have spines on the surface of their
bodies. These spines can injure enemies that go
near or attact the porcupines.
- A stealth of muscles controls the movement of the
spines so that they can be raised in a sign or
warning when a porciupine is threatened.
- The entire body of a porcupine fish is covered
with sharp spines.
- When the fish is threatened, it inflates its body,
causing the spines to erect. This will scare away

2. the enemies.
5) Camouflage
- Some animals have the ability to change their
body colour similar to their surroundings and
some animals blend in with their environment.
- Camouflage is used to hide from enemies and
preys.
- Tigers and zebras have stripes so that they can
better hide in the grass.
- Deer, rabbits and squirrels have brownish colour
that match the brown colours of the trees and
soil.
- Stick insects hide from their predators by blending
in with the environment. They have a long, thick
body that looks like a stick or twig.
- Certain moths have 2 large spots on their wings
which look like 2 eyes.
- Chameleons can change their skin colour to adapt
to their surroundings.
- Arctic foxes have grey or blue fur in the summer,
which changes to thick, white fur in the winter
enabling them to survive the arctic temperatures
and acting as camouflage to protect them from
polar bears.
6) Hard scales, thick fur and hard shell
- Some animals are covered with hard scales, thick
hair or hard shells to protect them from their
enemies.
- Pangolins and crocodiles have hard scales which
protect their bodies from injuries.

3. - Turtles, snails, clams and crabs have hard shells
that protect them from enemies.
- Bear have thick fur which protects them from
danger and harm.
7) Strong and sharp horns
- Some herbivors have strong and sharp horns to
protect themselves against their enemies.
- Ex: Deer, goats, rhinoceros, cows.
8) Long legs and strong muscles
- Some animals have long legs and strong muscles
to help them to run and escape from their
enemies.
9) Sharp claws
- Animals such as lions, tigers, eagles and bears use
their sharp claws to protect themselves and to
hunt for food.
10) Good eyesight and hearing
- Some animals have very good eyesight and
hearing that help them to detect their enemies
early.
- Ex: eagles have good eyesight while rabbits have
good hearing.
Special behaviours - Curling up bodies
- Pretending to be dead
- Break off its tail
- Hiding in the shell
- Living in groups
1) Curling up the bodies
- Milipedes and pangolins curl up their bodies to
protect themselves from danger.

4. 2) Pretending to be dead
- Some beetles and milipedes pretend to be dead
when their enemies attact to disturb them.
3) Releasing black ink
- Squid and octopuses release black ink to enable
them to escape from their enemies.
4) Break off its tails
- Lizards break off their tails when attacked by
enemies.
5) Hiding in hard shells
- Snails and tortoise hide their heads and legs in
their shells when attacked by enemies.
6) Living in groups
- Some animals live and move from place to place.
In groups(herds). This allows them to defend
themselves together when they are in danger.
- Ex: antelpe, elephants, zebras, lions
Extreme
weather
Special
characteristics in
hot weather
- Less hairs
- Light colours
- Long ears
- Able to store water and
food
- Hide in holes
- Wallowing in mud holes
1) Less hair and light colours
- Most animals which live in the desert have less
hair and light colours to reduce heat absorption.
2) Long ears
- Desert foxes have long ears to lose heat easily.
3) Able to store water and food
- Camels have humps on their backs. Humps are

5. fatty tissues which can be used as a food reserve.
This tissues acts as a source of energy. This
enables them to live without eating and drinking
for many days.
4) Hide in holes or underground
- Most desert animals rest and hide underground or
inside holes during the day to keep away from the
heat.
5) Wallowing in mud
- Hippopotamuses, buffaloes and rhinoceros keep
their bodies cool in suuny days by wallowing in
the mud.
Special
characteristics in
cold weather
- Thick fur
- Thick layer of fat
- Small ears
- Hibernate
- Migrate
1) Thick fur
- Polar bears have thick fur to enable them to live in
very cold weather.
2) Thick layer of fat
- Penguins, sea lions and seals have a thick layer of
fat under their skins to keep their bodies warm.
3) Small ears
- Most cold region animals have small ears to
prevent them from losing heat.
4) Hibernate
- Certain animals sleep most of the time when
there is a shortage of food in winter. This eanables
them to reduce their need for energy.
- Ex: Bears, squirrels, mice.

6. 5) Migrate
- Some animals migrate to warmer regions before
the beginning of winter.
- Ex: some birds, bats, flamingos, caribou.
Plants against Enemies Natural defence - Able to fold leaves
- Produce latex
- Sharp thorns
- Fine hairs
- Produce poisonous
substance
- Thick and hard bark
1) Able to fold their leaves
- Mimosa plants fold their leaves when touched.
2) Produce latex
-Some plants produce latex in the leaves or fruits
to prevent them from being eaten.
Ex: papaya, mango, jacfruit and rubber trees.
3) Sharp thorns
- Some plants have thorns on the leaves, stems or
fruits. These thorns will hurt the animals that
touch or eat the plants.
- Ex: rose plant, cactus, pineapple plant, durian.
4) Fine hairs
- Some plants have fine hairs on their fruits, stems
or their leaves. These hairs can cause itchiness.
- Ex: kiwi, bamboo,sugarcane, pumpkin.
5) Produce poisonous substances
- Certain types of plants produce poisonous
substances that may harm or kill animals or
humans that eat them.
6) Have thick and hard bark/skin
- The plants with thick and hard bark are not easily
destroyed.

7. - Ex: coconut tree, shorea tree, rubber tree.
Extreme
weather
Adaptation to
nature
●Adaptation to dry regions:
- thick stem
- needle-like leaves
- long roots
- waxy leaves
- shedding leaves
- hairy leaves
●Adaptation to strong winds:
- divided leaves
- strong buttress roots
- stem which bends easily
- needle-sharp leaves
Plants in dry regions have specific characteristics to
protect themselves from hot and dry weather.
Cactus plant which are commonly found in the desert
have:
- Thick stems to store water.
- Needle-like leaves to reduce the amount of water
loss into the atmosphere.
- Long roots to absorb water deep in the ground.
On hot days, plants tend to lose lot of water the
surroundings through the leaves.
Therefore, some plants have waxy and waterproof leaves.
Ex: yam, hibiscus, pandan.
Some plants shed their leaves during hot seasons.
Ex: The rubber tree, bougainvillae tree.
Plants like pumpkin, cucumber and watermelon have hairy
leaves to reduce excessive loss of water.
The banana tree and maize plant curl up their leaves on
hot days.
Plants which are found in windy areas have the following
characteristics to protect themselves from strong winds.
1) Divided leaves
- Plants like coconut trees and bamboo trees have

8. divided leaves that do not break easily when
blown by strong winds.
2) Strong buttress roots
-Buttress roots are large roots which grow out from
the base of the trunk of a tall tree.
- The roots help to support the tree so that it will not
be uprooted by strong winds. Plants like the coconut
tree, banyan tree and flame of the forest have
buttress roots.
3) Stems which bends easily.
- Plants like the bamboo tree and sugar cane have
flexible stems that can bend easily when blown by
strong winds.
4) Needle-shaped leaves
-Casuarina trees have needle-shaped leaves to reduce
wind resistance.