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Mary Bowman, age 11, of Williamsport, Pa., for her question:

DO OTHER ANIMALS BESIDES BIRDS MIGRATE?


Migration is a word that tells us about the movements of animals. In its strictest definition it means moving from one place to another. When used to describe the movements of animals, however, it generally means moving from here to there and back again as the seasons change.

Our planet is a bountiful place, providing the things necessary for its inhabitants to sustain life. In the spring, summer and fall, living is more or less easy. Food is abundant, and the temperature is moderate. Winter, however, sometimes imposes a hardship on nature's creatures, and they must leave their homes in search of a more suitable habitat.

Birds are probably the most famous of the migrating animals. Some of them wing their way for thousands of miles from colder to warmer climates. There are a number of reasons why they do this  to find food, to breed and nest are among the top choices.

Migrating, however, is not something that the birds invented, or can claim a patent on. Mammals, fish and even insects periodically migrate for one reason or another, and it seems that only the snakey reptiles are the true stay at homes.

Land mammals probably migrate the shortest distances. Deer and elk, for example, generally live in mountainous regions. Their migration might simply consist of moving down the slopes as winter closes in. With the coming of the dry season in Africa, however, many mammals migrate great distances in search of water.

Although most insects spend their lives sticking pretty close to their place of birth, some of them are champion migrators. Perhaps the best known are the monarch butterfly and its cousin the painted lady butterfly. In the fall huge flocks of monarchs travel several thousand miles as they fly south from Canada and the northern United States. Many of them fly as far south as Mexico and Central America. The painted lady is noted for its migration across the Mediterranean Sea as it flies between Europe and Africa.

Many fish and marine mammals also migrate great distances. Salmon from the salty sea migrate back to the streams where they were hatched to mate and deposit their eggs. Some eels do the same thing but in reverse. They leave their freshwater streams and journey far out into the ocean to mate and spawn. Marine mammals such as whales and seals may migrate as 'far as 2,000 miles in search of warmer waters and favorite breeding grounds

Winter means long months of hardship for many of nature's creatures, and to survive some must leave their homes and locate new ones. But one day warm breezes begin blowing again and the snow melts. The animals that left return as spring coaxes the plants out of the ground.

 

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