Nature and Animals for Kids
Nature is full of amazing animals, plants and habitats that depend on each other. These lessons explain how living things survive, grow and interact, from tiny insects and fungi to giant whales and ancient forests.
All 125 Nature and Animals topics
Food Chains
A food chain shows who eats whom.
Rainforests
Rainforests are warm, wet forests full of life.
Oceans and Sea Life
Oceans cover about 70% of Earth.
Insects
Insects have 6 legs and 3 body parts: head, thorax and abdomen.
Birds
Birds have feathers, wings and beaks, and they lay eggs.
Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs lived millions of years ago and died out about 66 million years ago.
Endangered Animals
An endangered species is at risk of disappearing forever.
Plant Life Cycle
A seed sprouts, grows into a plant, makes flowers, and the flowers produce new seeds.
Habitats
A habitat is where an animal or plant lives and finds food, water and shelter.
Mammals
Mammals are warm-blooded, have hair or fur, and feed milk to their babies.
Pollination
Pollination happens when pollen moves from one flower to another so plants can make seeds.
Camouflage
Camouflage lets animals blend in with their surroundings to hide from predators or sneak up on prey.
Hibernation
Some animals sleep through winter in a state called hibernation, saving energy when food is scarce.
Migration
Many animals travel long distances each year to find food or warmer weather.
Predators and Prey
A predator hunts other animals for food.
Reptiles
Reptiles are cold-blooded animals with dry scaly skin.
Amphibians
Amphibians live part of their lives in water and part on land.
Fish
Fish breathe underwater using gills and swim with fins.
Spiders
Spiders have eight legs and two body parts, and they are not insects.
Butterfly Life Cycle
A butterfly goes through four stages: egg, caterpillar (larva), chrysalis (pupa) and adult.
Honeybees
Honeybees live in colonies with one queen, many female workers and some male drones.
Coral Reefs
Coral reefs are built by tiny animals called polyps.
Wetlands
Wetlands like marshes and swamps are land covered by shallow water.
Grasslands and Savanna
Grasslands are wide open areas with few trees.
Arctic and Antarctic Animals
Polar animals have thick fur, feathers or blubber to stay warm.
Caring for Pets
Pets need food, fresh water, exercise, shelter and love.
Farm Animals
Farm animals give us milk, eggs, wool and meat.
Animal Communication
Animals share messages using sounds, scents, body language and even dances.
Nocturnal Animals
Nocturnal animals sleep by day and are active at night.
Herbivores, Carnivores and Omnivores
Herbivores eat plants, carnivores eat meat and omnivores eat both.
Deciduous and Evergreen Trees
Deciduous trees lose their leaves in autumn, while evergreens keep their leaves all year.
Fungi
Fungi, like mushrooms and moulds, are not plants or animals.
Seed Dispersal
Plants spread their seeds so new plants have room to grow.
Ecosystems
An ecosystem is a community of living things and their environment, all depending on each other.
Animal Adaptations
Adaptations are features that help living things survive in their habitat.
Bats
Bats are the only mammals that can truly fly.
Owls
Owls are birds of prey that hunt mostly at night.
Penguins
Penguins are flightless birds that live mostly in the Southern Hemisphere.
Polar Bears
Polar bears live in the Arctic and depend on sea ice for hunting seals.
Elephants
Elephants are the largest land animals and live in family groups led by an older female.
Whales
Whales are huge mammals that live in the ocean and breathe air through a blowhole.
Dolphins
Dolphins are intelligent sea mammals that breathe air at the surface.
Octopuses
Octopuses are soft-bodied sea animals with eight arms.
Sharks
Sharks are fish with skeletons made of cartilage rather than bone.
Sea Turtles
Sea turtles spend most of their lives in the ocean, but females come ashore to lay their eggs in sand.
Frog Life Cycle
A frog starts as an egg in water, hatches into a tadpole with a tail and gills, then grows legs and lungs to become an adult frog.
Ants
Ants are social insects that live in colonies with queens, workers and soldiers.
Beetles
Beetles are the largest group of insects on Earth, with hard wing covers called elytra.
Earthworms
Earthworms are long, soft creatures that live in soil.
Snails and Slugs
Snails and slugs are soft-bodied molluscs that move on a muscular foot and leave a trail of slime.
Jellyfish
Jellyfish are soft, free-swimming sea animals with stinging cells in their tentacles.
Starfish
Starfish are sea animals with five arms that can regrow if they lose one.
Crabs
Crabs are crustaceans with a hard outer shell called an exoskeleton.
Chameleons
Chameleons are lizards famous for changing colour.
Snakes
Snakes are reptiles with no legs that move by wriggling.
Giraffes
Giraffes are the tallest land animals and eat leaves from tall trees.
Kangaroos
Kangaroos are marsupials from Australia that hop on their strong back legs.
Pandas
Giant pandas live in bamboo forests in China and eat mostly bamboo.
Tigers
Tigers are the largest cats in the world and live in Asia.
Lions
Lions are big cats that live in groups called prides.
Horses
Horses are large grass-eating mammals that run fast to escape danger.
Cacti
Cacti are plants that store water in their thick stems.
Lichens
A lichen is a partnership between a fungus and an alga or cyanobacterium.
Ferns
Ferns are plants that reproduce using spores rather than seeds.
Mangrove Forests
Mangrove trees grow in salty coastal water and have roots that stick up out of the mud.
Bird Nests
Birds build nests from twigs, grass, mud and feathers to protect their eggs and chicks.
Butterflies and Moths
Butterflies and moths are both insects with scaly wings.
Seaweed
Seaweed is a type of algae that grows in the sea.
Bees and Wasps
Bees and wasps are both insects with stripes, but bees are fuzzy and eat pollen and nectar.
Woodpeckers
Woodpeckers drill into tree trunks to find insects to eat and to make nest holes.
Hedgehogs
Hedgehogs are small mammals covered in spines.
Dragonflies
Dragonflies are fast flying insects with two pairs of wings and big eyes.
Crocodiles
Crocodiles are large reptiles with long jaws, thick scaly skin and strong tails.
Otters
Otters are playful mammals that live near water.
Squirrels
Squirrels are small rodents with bushy tails.
Rabbits
Rabbits are small mammals with long ears and strong back legs for jumping.
Seahorses
Seahorses are small fish with a horse-shaped head and curled tail.
Lobsters
Lobsters are sea creatures with hard shells, large claws and long antennae.
Hermit Crabs
Hermit crabs have soft bodies and live inside empty shells that they find.
Tortoises
Tortoises are slow-moving reptiles with domed shells.
Lizards
Lizards are reptiles with scaly skin, claws and usually a long tail.
Parrots
Parrots are colourful birds with curved beaks and strong feet.
Flamingos
Flamingos are tall pink birds that live in shallow lakes and lagoons.
Sloths
Sloths are slow-moving mammals that live in trees in Central and South America.
Koalas
Koalas are marsupials that live in eucalyptus trees in Australia.
Hummingbirds
Hummingbirds are tiny birds that can hover in the air by beating their wings very quickly.
Vultures
Vultures are large birds that eat dead animals.
Meerkats
Meerkats are small mongooses that live in groups in the desert of southern Africa.
Mice
Mice are small rodents with large ears and long tails.
Foxes
Foxes are clever, medium-sized mammals with bushy tails and pointed ears.
Wolves
Wolves are large wild mammals that live and hunt together in packs.
Bears
Bears are large mammals with thick fur and strong claws.
Deer
Deer are graceful hoofed mammals with antlers on the males of many species.
Moles
Moles are small mammals that live underground and dig tunnels with their strong front paws.
Camels
Camels are mammals that live in deserts and are famous for their humps, which store fat rather than water.
Geese
Geese are large waterbirds with webbed feet and strong wings.
Swans
Swans are large, graceful waterbirds with long necks.
Peacocks
Peacocks are large birds famous for their colourful tail feathers, which the males fan out to attract mates.
Storks
Storks are long-legged birds that often build large nests on rooftops, chimneys and trees.
Ostriches
Ostriches are the largest birds in the world and cannot fly.
Woodlice
Woodlice are small crustaceans with hard, segmented bodies.
Gorillas
Gorillas are the largest living primates and live in family groups in forests in central Africa.
Chimpanzees
Chimpanzees are intelligent apes that live in communities in forests and woodlands in Africa.
Monkeys
Monkeys are primates with long tails in many species, though not all have them.
Hippos
Hippos are large mammals that spend much of the day in water to keep cool.
Rhinos
Rhinos are large, thick-skinned mammals with one or two horns made of keratin.
Zebras
Zebras are African mammals known for their black and white stripes.
Hamsters
Hamsters are small rodents with stuffy cheek pouches that they use to carry food.
Guinea Pigs
Guinea pigs are small rodents that live in groups and make a range of sounds to communicate.
Goldfish
Goldfish are freshwater fish that come in many colours and sizes.
Tadpoles
A tadpole is the young stage of a frog or toad.
Ladybirds
Ladybirds are small beetles with bright shells, often red with black spots.
Dormice
Dormice are small rodents with large eyes and furry tails.
Sea Anemones
Sea anemones are soft-bodied animals that live on rocks and reefs.
Clownfish
Clownfish are bright orange fish with white stripes that live among the tentacles of sea anemones.
Seals
Seals are marine mammals that spend much of their time in the sea but come onto land or ice to rest and breed.
Walruses
Walruses are large Arctic mammals with long tusks and whiskers.
Sea Urchins
Sea urchins are spiny sea animals that live on the sea floor.
Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes are small flying insects.
Caterpillars
Caterpillars are the larval stage of butterflies and moths.
Cuttlefish
Cuttlefish are marine animals related to squid and octopuses.
Lynx
The lynx is a wild cat with long legs, large paws and tufts of fur on its ears.
Bison
Bison are large grazing animals with a shaggy coat and a hump on their shoulders.
Moose
Moose are the largest members of the deer family, with large antlers and long legs.
Hyenas
Hyenas are mammals that look like dogs but are more closely related to cats.
Frequently asked questions about Nature and Animals
How can children learn about nature at home?
Visit a park, start a window box, keep a notebook of birds you see, or watch a plant grow from a seed. Looking closely is the best way to learn.
Are these lessons good for science projects?
Yes. Many topics, such as food chains, habitats and life cycles, make good starting points for school projects and nature journals.
Why is it important to protect nature?
Every living thing is linked to others. Protecting habitats keeps food chains, pollinators and whole ecosystems healthy.