Animals Around Us
Primary 3 · Science and Elementary Technology
Animals Around Us
Lesson 1 of 3
12 min
Let's begin
Uwase steps outside early in the morning. The family goat is tied under the avocado tree. It sees her coming and bleats loudly, because it knows she is the one who brings the grass.
High above the goat, a small bird lands on a branch. Nobody tied that bird there. Nobody cuts grass for it. It came on its own, and soon it will fly away again.
Two animals, one tree — but they live in two completely different ways. Today you will learn to tell them apart.
Look at the goat again. Somebody feeds it. Somebody carries it water. Somebody built it a little shed for the rainy nights. That goat cannot look after itself — it depends on Uwase's family.
Now look at the bird. It hunts its own insects. It drinks from a puddle. It built its own nest out of grass and mud. Nobody helps it at all.
An animal that people keep, feed and look after is a domestic animal.
An animal that lives on its own, finds its own food and makes its own home, is a wild animal.
Do not guess. Ask three questions, one at a time.
1. Does a person feed it? Yes. Every evening Gatete cuts grass and carries it home for the cow.
2. Does a person give it a home? Yes. The cow sleeps in a kraal — a fenced shed beside the house.
3. Does it let people come close? Yes. It stands quietly while it is being milked.
Three yeses. So the cow (inka) is a domestic animal.
Exactly the same three questions.
1. Does a person feed it? No. It picks its own fruit from the trees.
2. Does a person give it a home? No. It sleeps high in the trees of Nyungwe forest.
3. Does it let people come close? No. Walk towards it and it runs up a branch.
Three noes. So the monkey is a wild animal.
Be careful — some wild animals live very close to people. A lizard suns itself on your wall. A mouse hides behind the kitchen pot. A spider hangs in the corner of the classroom.
They live near your house, yes. But nobody keeps them, nobody feeds them, and nobody invited them. They find their own food and they run away when you come near. So they are still wild.
Living near a house does not make an animal domestic. Being kept by people does.
| Animal | Group | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|
| Cow (inka) | Domestic | A kraal or shed beside the house |
| Hen (inkoko) | Domestic | A chicken coop |
| Rabbit (urukwavu) | Domestic | A hutch — a small wooden house |
| Dog (imbwa) | Domestic | A kennel in the yard |
| Bird | Wild | A nest it builds in a tree |
| Fish | Wild | The water of Lake Kivu |
| Monkey | Wild | The trees of Nyungwe forest |
| Elephant | Wild | The grassland of Akagera National Park |
| Mountain gorilla | Wild | The forest of the Volcanoes National Park |
Tip
When you are stuck, ask yourself one question: who brings the food?
If a person brings the food, the animal is domestic. If the animal must go out and find its own food, it is wild. That single question sorts almost every animal you will meet.
Say your answer out loud first, then tap Show answer to check.
Keza's family keeps three rabbits in a wooden hutch and feeds them fresh leaves every day. Domestic or wild?
Answer: Domestic. People built their home and people bring their food. (Who brings the food? Keza does.)
A crow lands on the school roof, snatches a crumb of bread that somebody dropped, and flies away. Domestic or wild?
Answer: Wild. It stole a crumb — nobody feeds it. Nobody keeps it, and it left the moment it wanted to.
Name two domestic animals you might see in a Rwandan yard, and say where each one sleeps.
Answer: There are many good answers. For example: a hen sleeps in a coop; a cow sleeps in a kraal; a dog sleeps in a kennel; a goat sleeps in a small shed.
Mugisha says, “A mouse lives inside our house, so it must be a domestic animal.” Is he right?
Answer: No. The mouse lives near people, but nobody keeps it and nobody feeds it — it steals food and hides. It is wild.
Where in Rwanda would you go to see a wild elephant? And a wild mountain gorilla?
Answer: The elephant lives in the Akagera National Park. The mountain gorilla lives in the forest of the Volcanoes National Park. Nobody feeds them there — they live in their own homes and look after themselves.
What you learned today
Quick check
Which one question sorts almost every animal into domestic or wild?
