By swimming in schools, fish make themselves harder to catch.

By swimming in schools, fish make themselves harder to catch.

Common Defenses

These are only a few of the ways that animals escape predators. They have other defenses, too.

Just look around. Cats arch their backs to look big and scary. Green grasshoppers blend into grass. Claws and teeth help animals fight.

These adaptations, or useful traits, are quite different. Yet they share one purpose. They all keep an animal from landing on the menu.

Key Vocabulary

  • adaptation n., a feature or a behavior that lets an animal stay alive

In Other Words

  • landing on the menu getting eaten by another animal

Before You Move On

  • 1. Paraphrase Tell in your own words how moving in groups helps some animals survive.

  • 2. Problem and Solution Name an animal from the article and tell how it defends itself against a predator.