to inhabit – to live in a certain place.
- The rainforest is inhabited by many different species of monkey.
natural surroundings – the habitat in which a species would naturally live.
- The best thing about going on safari is seeing the animals in their natural
surroundings rather than caged up in a zoo.
to adapt – to change or adjust in response to new conditions.
- With the loss of large areas of countryside to housing development, foxes have had
to adapt to living in towns.
to evolve – change or develop gradually.
- Scientists now believe that humans evolved from apes.
evolution – the process by which living things slowly change and develop over a
long period of time.
- The theory of evolution states that all life on Earth today evolved over millions of
years from simple organisms.
thrive – to grow and develop well or quickly.
- The leopard seal is well adapted to the cold and thrives in the fish-rich waters of the
Arctic.
marine – related to or found in the sea.
- Marine wildlife is badly affected by the amount of waste plastic in our oceans.
nocturnal – active at night.
- Almost all species of bats are nocturnal, preferring to hunt or search for food at
night rather than during the day.
migrate – to move from one region or habitat to another, usually when the season
changes.
- Many birds migrate south to warmer climates in the winter.
extinction – being completely destroyed so that it no longer exists.
- The dodo, a flightless bird once found in Mauritius, was hunted to extinction by
1681.
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dying out – to become increasingly less common, almost to the point of extinction.
- Tigers are in serious danger of dying out in the wild.
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