Natural Science & Technology: Grade 5
Life and Living: Plants and Animals on Earth
PLANTS AND ANIMALS ON EARTH
It is estimated that there are around 7,7 million different
species of animals on Earth and around 400,000 species of
plants. There are many more plants and animal species still
to be discovered.
Plants and animals live all over the world and are found in
different habitats, such as deserts, forests, grasslands, water
(aquatic) and in the arctic (tundra). A habitat is the place
where plants and animals live. Plants and animals adapt to
the conditions in their habitat.
For more information on habitats, go to NS Grade 4 – Animal Habitats:
https://mycyberwall.co.za/get-smart/science/grade-4/animal-habitats
In South Africa many indigenous plants and animals are found. These are species that occur
naturally only in a specific area. Animals such as the Cape Buffalo, the Knysna Woodpecker
and the Geometric Tortoise and plants such as the King Protea (our national flower) are
indigenous to South Africa. Many endemic species are unique to South Africa and found
nowhere else in the world.
King Protea – Our National Flower
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Geometric Tortoise
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Natural Science & Technology: Grade 5
Life and Living: Plants and Animals on Earth
There are a variety of different habitats in South Africa. Because of this, South Africa has
high biodiversity. Habitats found in South Africa and its neighbouring countries include:
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Desert
In the north-west of South Africa, desert areas are found. The Karoo in the Northern Cape
(and some parts of the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Free State), is a semi-desert area.
The oldest desert in the world, the Namib desert, is found in Namibia.
Desert habitats support animals and plants that are adapted to the harsh conditions, such
as lizards, scorpions, antelope, snakes, ostrich, foxes and meerkats.
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Lizard
Antelope
Fox
Snake
Forest
Only a very small percentage (less than 1%) of the land in South Africa is covered with
forest. Forests grow in the Knysna area in the Western Cape, around the Drakensberg
mountains in KwaZulu-Natal and in Mpumalanga, in high rainfall areas. The Knysna
forest is found in the Western Cape.
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Natural Science & Technology: Grade 5
Life and Living: Plants and Animals on Earth
Many years ago, herds of elephants lived in the Knysna forest, but these herds have been
wiped out by humans and it is thought that only a few elephants survive here.
Elephant
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Grasslands
The north-east and eastern parts of South Africa, (Mpumalanga, Limpopo and KZN) are
‘bushveld’ areas, with savannah grasslands and open woodlands. Grassland areas are
found mainly in the Highveld.
A variety of grasses and small flowering plants grow here and the wildlife includes lion,
zebra, elephants, rhino, giraffes, antelopes and birds such as South Africa’s national bird,
the blue crane.
Lion
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Our National Bird – The Blue Crane
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Natural Science & Technology: Grade 5
Life and Living: Plants and Animals on Earth
Birdlife
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Water (aquatic)
Many plants grown in or near water and animals live all or some of the time in this
environment. Freshwater and marine habitats are found in South Africa. Freshwater
habitats include rivers, lagoons and wetlands, such as the St Lucia Wetland Park. A
variety of species such as insects, frogs, fish, snakes, ducks, otters, hippos and crocodiles
live on or near freshwater.
Frogs
Butterfly
Otter
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Hippopotamus
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Natural Science & Technology: Grade 5
Life and Living: Plants and Animals on Earth
South Africa has a very long coastline (2 798 km) and a variety of plants and animals live
along the wet shoreline, such as crabs, seagulls and penguins.
Coral reefs are found in areas off the east coast, such as Sodwana Bay. Many species of
fish and animals are found here.
Many Species of Fish
Penguins
Fish in Coral Reef
Turtles
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Natural Science & Technology: Grade 5
Life and Living: Plants and Animals on Earth
Types of Plants
Plants are found everywhere in the world and are essential to life on Earth, as they are the
food source for all living creatures. Everything we eat comes either directly or indirectly from
plants.
Plants are found on land, in oceans and in freshwater and include the following:
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trees
shrubs and bushes
grasses
flowers
vegetables
herbs
cacti
mosses, lichens and ferns
creepers and climbers
aquatic plants
Various Cacti
Wikipedia Creative Commons
Attribution Share-Alike: Citron
Herbs
Wikipedia Creative Commons; Flickr.com
Attribution Share-Alike: RJFerret
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Moss
Wikipedia Creative Commons
Attribution Share-Alike: Fred Fsu
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Natural Science & Technology: Grade 5
Life and Living: Plants and Animals on Earth
There are two main types of plants:

Angiosperms – these are flowering plants that produce their seeds in flowers.
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Gymnosperms – these are non-flowering plants that produce their seeds in cones.
Angiosperm – Water Lily
Gymnosperm – Zululand Cycad
Types of Animals
Animals can be divided into two groups:
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Vertebrates – These are animals that have a backbone.
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Invertebrates – These animals do not have a backbone. They usually have a hard outer
‘skin’ or shell.
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Natural Science & Technology: Grade 5
Life and Living: Plants and Animals on Earth
Vertebrates
Mammals
There are around 5,500 species of mammals on planet Earth and nearly 300 species are found
in South Africa. They are warm-blooded, which means they have a constant body
temperature. Mammals live on land and in water. The mother feeds her young with her milk.
Examples: cows, horses, lions, antelope, cats, dolphins, whales, bats, kangaroos, giraffes.
Mammal on Land – Cows
Mammal in the Water - Dolphin
Birds
There are around 10,000 species of birds found on Earth, of which 858 species live in South
Africa. The largest bird, the ostrich, is found in South Africa. Birds are warm-blooded and
live on land and in the air. They have wings for flying, although some birds, like the ostrich
and the penguin do not fly.
Examples: Eagles, falcons, vultures, owls, sparrows, kingfishers, swallows, ducks.
Mammal in the Water
Fish Eagle
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Ducks
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Natural Science & Technology: Grade 5
Life and Living: Plants and Animals on Earth
Fish
There are more fish species than any other type of vertebrate on the planet, with over 30,000
known species. Fish are found in both marine (sea) and freshwater habitats.
The South African coast has a great variety of fish, however, there are limited number of
freshwater fish.
Fish are cold-blooded, meaning they can vary their body temperature. They live in water and
breathe by using their gills.
Examples: trout, salmon, dorado, mackerel, hake, halibut, tuna, marlin.
Salmon
Trout
Reptiles
There are over 10,000 species of reptiles, of which the majority are lizards, followed by
snakes. In South Africa, more than 400 species of reptiles are found, of which 130 species are
snakes. Reptiles are cold-blooded. Most live on land, but some spend time in the water.
Examples: lizards, chameleons, snakes, crocodiles, alligators, turtles.
Chameleon
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Snake (Puff Adder)
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Natural Science & Technology: Grade 5
Life and Living: Plants and Animals on Earth
Amphibians
There are about 7000 species of amphibians. Around 90% of amphibians are frogs. The only
amphibians found in South Africa are frogs and toads. Amphibians are cold-blooded. They
live in the water when they are young and mainly on land as adults, returning to the water to
breed.
Examples: frogs, toads, salamanders, caecilians.
Toad
Salamander
Invertebrates
Invertebrates make up around 98% of the known animal species on Earth.
All invertebrates have one characteristic in common – they do not have a backbone.
Some invertebrates have a body divided into segments, for example, worms, insects like flies,
as well as spiders and crabs.
Worm
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Spider
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Natural Science & Technology: Grade 5
Life and Living: Plants and Animals on Earth
Other types of invertebrates have non-segmented bodies. These are known as molluscs.
There are more than 800,000 species of molluscs, for example, snails, mussels and oysters.
They have either an inner or an outer shell.
Insects are invertebrates with segmented bodies. There are around a million known species of
insect. Around 100,000 species of insect are found in South Africa.
Insects have six legs and either fly, for example, bees, flies and butterflies, or crawl, for
example, ants.
Bees
Butterfly
There are 100,000 species of arachnids (spiders), of which 2000 are found in South Africa.
Spiders have eight legs and do not have antennae.
Kalahari Scorpion
Spider
Some invertebrates like crabs and lobsters have shells and five pairs of legs.
Hermit Crab in Shell
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Lobster
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Natural Science & Technology: Grade 5
Life and Living: Plants and Animals on Earth
Inter-dependence of Plants and Animals
Many species of plants and animals depend on each other in order to survive. They are interdependent.
The insects, lizards and rodents who are the primary consumers (herbivores) depend on
plants to survive.
In turn, the secondary consumers, i.e. the spiders, scorpions, lizards and snakes, depend on
the primary consumers as their food source, and so on.
For more information on food webs, go to: Grade 5: Natural Science: Food Chains:
https://mycyberwall.co.za/get-smart/science/grade-5/food-chains-new
If we look at the food chain below for animals and plants in a desert habitat, we can see that a
variety of plants are found in the desert, such as cacti, acacia and some flowering plants
(angiosperms).
Example of a Desert Food Chain
Both plants and animals also depend on the resources available in their habitats, such as air,
water, soil, food and shelter. If the resources in their environment changes, for example, if
there is not enough water, they will not survive.
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Natural Science & Technology: Grade 5
Life and Living: Plants and Animals on Earth
An ecosystem is a community of living and non-living things that depend on each other.
Inter-dependence in an ecosystem can be:
1) Between Living Things
Animals depend on plants and other animals for food.
We have seen that:

A herbivore is an animal that eats only plants.
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A carnivore is an animal that eats only animals.
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An omnivore is an animal that eats plants and other animals.
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A scavenger eats plants and dead animals.
Plants are dependent on animals to assist in the process of pollination. Pollinators are
animals that assist in this process by helping to move pollen from one flower to another, in
order for fertilisation to take place.
Examples of pollinators include bees, wasps, birds, small mammals, etc.
For example, bees are attracted to flowers and feed from their nectar. Bees then transfer
pollen from other flowers to the flower they are feeding on. The pollen sticks to their legs.
Bees Transfer Pollen
Many flowering plants depend on bees to pollinate them so that fertilization can take place.
Bees depend on the flowers to provide them with nectar. Without each other, bees and
flowers could not survive.
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Natural Science & Technology: Grade 5
Life and Living: Plants and Animals on Earth
So we can see that plants and animals depend on each other in order to survive.
Animals also help plants by dispersing their seeds. The animals that eat the seeds move away
and excrete the seeds, which grow into new plants. Sometimes seeds stick to the animals’ fur
and in this way, the seeds are transferred to different places.
Squirrel Eating Seeds
2) Between Living and Non-Living Things
Non-living things found in an ecosystem include air (for oxygen and carbon-dioxide), water
and soil.
Plants need the water in the soil and carbon dioxide in the air for photosynthesis.
Earthworms are living creatures that depend on the soil for their habitat (non-living).
They live in rich, moist soil which is essential to stop their skin from becoming dry. The
earthworms excrete droppings into the soil, which makes it fertile for other animals and
plants. When they dig tunnels, they also put air into the soil.
Many birds build nests from reeds (non-living) to raise their young.
Bird Building Nest
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Natural Science & Technology: Grade 5
Life and Living: Plants and Animals on Earth
So we can see that plants and animals which are living things are dependent on other living
things as well as non-living things, in order to survive.
A symbiotic relationship is when two organisms of different species i.e. either a plant and an
animal, or two different animal species, interact in long-term relationships.
In these relationships at least one of the organisms benefits, for example, an oxpecker and a
buffalo. The bird eats parasites off the buffalo and at the same time, the buffalo is cleaned.
The Oxpecker and Buffalo
In some symbiotic relationships, both organisms benefit. In other symbiotic relationships,
only one organism benefits, for example, barnacles growing on a mussel. The barnacles have
a habitat and the mussel is not harmed.
Barnacles Attached to Mussels
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Natural Science & Technology: Grade 5
Life and Living: Plants and Animals on Earth
In other symbiotic relationships called parasitism, one organism benefits and the other is
harmed, for example, a tick that feeds off an animal.
Tick Feeding off a Dog
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