Open lands: savanna and desert
A savanna is a sea of grass with trees standing far apart. It is warm all year, with a wet season when the grass grows tall and a dry season when it turns gold. Grass-eaters gather in big herds there, and the hunters that follow them need speed, because there is nowhere to hide.
A desert is a place where very little rain falls. Many are hot by day and cold at night. Desert animals are experts at saving water: some get it all from their food, some hide in burrows through the heat, and some, like the fennec fox, have big ears that let heat out.
Tall and green: rainforest and forest
A rainforest is hot and wet nearly every day, so the trees grow tall and close together. Many of its animals live up in the leaves, where the fruit and the sunshine are. More kinds of animals live in rainforests than anywhere else on land.
A forest with seasons changes all year: new leaves in spring, shade in summer, color in fall, and bare branches or snow in winter. Its animals change with it. Some sleep through the cold, some fly south, and some grow a thicker coat and keep going.
Water worlds: the ocean, and rivers, lakes and ponds
The ocean covers most of our planet. Near the top it is bright and warm enough for tiny floating plants, which feed tiny animals, which feed bigger ones, all the way up to the biggest animal that has ever lived. Deeper down it is dark and cold. Some ocean animals breathe water through gills, and some, like whales, come up to breathe air.
Rivers, lakes, ponds and marshes hold fresh water instead of salty sea water. Frogs and salamanders start life there as swimmers with gills. Fish, turtles, otters and beavers live in the water, and herons, eagles and moose come to its edge to find food.
Cold places: snow and ice
The coldest places on Earth are the far north, called the Arctic, the far south, called Antarctica, and the tops of high mountains. Animals there keep warm with thick fur, feathers or fat, and many have white coats that hide them in the snow. Polar bears live in the Arctic and penguins in the south, so they never meet.
Closest to home: backyard and town
You do not have to travel to see wild animals. Bees, butterflies, birds, squirrels and toads live in gardens, parks and even cities. The best way to meet them is to sit still and watch, and never to pick them up.
Not sure who lives near you? Our guide, Who lives in your backyard?, has a list to look for.
For Big readers: a habitat is a set of answers
Scientists describe a habitat by asking the same few questions. How warm is it? How much rain falls, and when? What grows here? Where can an animal hide, and what can it eat? A savanna and a desert are both warm, but a savanna has a wet season that grows grass, while a desert gets very little rain at any time. That one answer changes who can live there.
Habitats are not sealed boxes. A raccoon can live in a forest, along a river and in a backyard, so it shows up on more than one page. Animals also move between habitats as the seasons change, which is why an animal on Peabody can belong to more than one of these places.
Pick Big at the top to see the part for older readers.