“Great Migration National Geographic notes
Vocabulary:
Instinct: behavior that is natural from birth
Larvae: young form of some animals
Metamorphosis : change an animal goes though as it grows from
baby to adult
Migrate: to move from one area to another
Millions of animals migrate across the Earth.
Monarch butterflies travel 3,000 miles. This trip take two months.
Not all Monarchs migrate, most only live four or five weeks.
Some live up to 8 months. Cold weather kills monarchs and the
plants they eat. When they migrate back, they lay eggs.
Rufous hummingbirds also migrate from Alaska to Mexico. They
travel 3,700 miles. They travel alone not in a flock. In the Spring,
they return to Alaska and lay eggs.
Christmas island crabs migrate to the water to lay eggs and then
they migrate back. When the crab larvae come out then they
march back to the rain forest like their parents.
Emperor penguins migrate to the cold. There is no food and little
shelter but there is no predators. The mother puts the eggs on the
father’s feet. His feet keep the egg warm.
Humpback whales migrate to have their babies in a safer place.
They return to their home because there is not enough food for
them.
Zooplankton is one of Earth’s tiniest travelers. They are smaller
then a speck of dust. They are at the bottom of the ocean food
chain. These animals migrate everyday. They move up and down
like an elevator
Migration is dangerous. Migration may mean the survival of the
whole species.