How Do Animals Grow and Change?

Animals, like plants, have life cycles. These cycles show how animals grow from babies into adults and sometimes change form along the way!

Common Animal Life Cycles

• Egg: Many animals, like birds, frogs, and insects, start as eggs.
• Young: After hatching, the animal is a baby. Some look like tiny adults, while others, like caterpillars, look very different!
• Adult: The animal grows up, can have babies of its own, and the cycle continues.

Special Life Cycles

Some animals go through amazing changes called metamorphosis. For example:

• A butterfly starts as an egg, becomes a caterpillar (larva), turns into a chrysalis (pupa), and finally becomes a butterfly!
• Frogs begin as eggs, become tadpoles, and then grow legs to become adult frogs.

Why Life Cycles Matter

Knowing about animal life cycles helps us protect animals and their habitats. It also helps us understand when to look for baby birds, tadpoles, or butterflies.

Explore in Your World

Look for signs of animal life cycles in your backyard or park!