Biodiversity of Life on Earth

A desert environment is hot and dry. There isn’t much water in the desert. Animals that live there often live underground.

A cactus is a plant that can be found in a desert. Snakes, lizards and coyotes are animals that can live in a desert.

Polar bears and wolves can live in the Arctic. Arctic foxes and some types of rabbits can live there too.

Colorful birds and snakes live in a rainforest. Lots of bugs and a lot of green trees are in a rainforest too. It is estimated that more than 40% of all animals on Earth, live in a rainforest.

A rainforest would have a larger variety of plants and animals because it has more water. Animals and plants need water to survive.

Animals would need thick fur and lots of fat in order to stay warm.

Desert animals build subterranean homes to stay cool in the heat. Underground is also a good place to hide from predators.

The Arctic is very cold, which makes it tough to survive there. A rainforest gets lots of rain, which causes lots of plants to grow. Plants are homes and food for many different animals. It is also warm in the rainforest.

Raccoons are scavengers, so they eat whatever they can find. Sometimes they dig around in garbage cans for food.

Skunks spray stinky liquid that keeps predators away. Any animal that tries to eat a skunk could get sprayed. An owl might try to eat a skunk by attacking it from the sky.

Scientists survey areas of land to learn about the types of animals and plants living there. This survey can tell them how diverse an area is.

It would have a lot of different kinds of plants and animals living there.