4
ANIMAL HABITATS
Originally “Wild Wapati”
The balance between what animals need to live and the number of animals a habitat can support is known as “carrying
capacity.” Carrying capacity affects the ability of wildlife species to successfully reproduce to maintain their populations
over time. The most basic of life’s necessities for living organisms are food, water, shelter, and space in a suitable
arrangement. If any of these components are out of balance, a species population in that habitat will be effected in
one way or another.
Since all habitats have a finite amount of resources for life, carrying capacity limitations (limiting factors) can result in
competition among those depending on that ecosystem for survival. Thus, populations can go through a natural growth
or decline depending on seasons, migrations, etc. Usually the most fundamental and critical limiting factors are the
main components of habitat: food, water, shelter, and space. With this game, students will understand:
• Good habitat is the key to wildlife survival
• A population will continue to increase in size until some limiting factors are imposed
• Limiting factors contribute to fluctuations in wildlife populations
• Nature is never in “balance,” but is always changing
• Everything in natural systems is interrelated
• Populations of animals are continually changing in a process of maintaining equilibrium
The Shawnee used the word wapiti to refer to elk, as it means “white rump.” They eat understory vegetation like vine
maples and especially salmonberries. Elk herds have a social hierarchy, where the females will follow the most mature;
and the largest bull (male elk) gets to tag along with the group. Other males will be driven off until this bull can’t defend
himself anymore, which could be the next season since it’s hard work taking care of all the females in the herd.
WARM-UP
1.
Ask students to make a list of what is needed to survive. Review the essential components of habitat
(food, water, shelter, and space in a suitable arrangement). Set up outside, in a gym or large room.
ACTIVITY
2. The game is structured around food, water, and shelter, but it should be noted that space should not be forgotten
and is very important for animal populations to reach maximum size. This, of course, is the goal of all animal species.
3. Divide students into four groups. Have each group go to a designated boundary of a field. Mark two parallel lines on
the ground or floor ten to twenty yards apart. Have one group line up behind one line and the rest of the groups (put
groups two, three, and four into one large group) line up on the other line facing the first group.
4. The first group is designated the wild wapiti (explain where the word came from as stated in the background).
Since all elk need a suitable habitat to survive, assume that it has all the space it needs. The elk (group one) have
to find all the components of habitat it needs to survive. Tell students which specific component the elk is looking
for, he/she will use specific hand gestures illustrating either food, shelter, or water. To show that an elk is looking for
food one should hold its “hooves” over its stomach. When an elk is looking for water, it should hold its “hooves” over
his/her mouth. To show that an elk is looking for shelter, it holds its “hooves” together over its head. An elk chooses
one habitat component each round, and cannot change until the next round (if it survives).
5. Each person in the larger second group chooses which habitat components they want to represent: food, water, or
shelter. That student then makes the hand gesture that represents the component (i.e. hands on stomach for food,
and so on).
