SUITABILITY LEVEL: P3 and P6
RELATED SCIENCE TOPICS:
- P3: Living Things
- P6: Adaptation
Recently from the social media, we may have read about monkeys digging into student’s bags left unattended at pavements. When the students approach the monkeys that are apparently looking for food, they start getting aggressive.
A student at Primary 3 learns in his science class that ‘All living things need air, food and water’. Our mother Earth provides us an abundance of air with its ideal atmosphere to sustain living things. Animals will then need to find food and water to ensure that life processes can take place.
Have you ever wondered why we are not allowed to feed monkeys at nature parks? Are we being selfish or even cruel?
In fact, monkeys, like other animals, are smart and will always think of the easiest way to find food. If we give them food, they will then depend on humans for food. This will alter the monkey’s behaviour and eventually they will get aggressive whenever they are deprived of food from humans.
From the social media video, the two monkeys were happily eating oranges. Even when they were enjoying their food, the monkeys chose to sit on the railings rather than the ground. The monkeys were also anxiously looking around. Have you ever wondered why the monkeys were behaving in such a manner?
Study the pictures below carefully.
Based on the pictures, animal M is sitting on the railing rather than on the ground while eating food given to it. Is this more a structural or behavioural adaptation? Explain how this benefits animal M. (2m)
Leave a Reply