Mammals are warm-blooded animals that can live in lots of different places on earth. Polar bears live in the Arctic, while camels live in hot deserts and dolphins live in the sea. Humans are mammals too. Female mammals have special ‘mammary glands’. These glands produce milk to feed their young.
Fungi the dolphin
Copyright Mike Brown
Copyright Mike Brown
Most mammals have four legs and a tail but marine mammals are different. They have fins and flippers instead of legs. These are much more useful for swimming!
Do you know the names of any marine mammals? Whales, dolphins, porpoises, turtles, seals, walruses and polar bears are all marine mammals.
How many kinds of mammals do you think there are on earth? About 5,000! This might sound like a lot, but there are over 21,000 kinds of fish so it’s really very little.