What Do Animals Need To Survive?

Animals need certain things to survive. Living in the wild is often hard, and animals require things such as a place to live, food, and water to stay healthy and to raise their young.

There are four main necessities for animals:

  • Food
  • Water
  • Shelter
  • Space


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All life on Earth requires food to survive. Food provides energy, as well as vital nutrients to ensure normal bodily processes can occur.



To successfully forage vegetation, herbivores have mobile lips to grasp their food and large flat teeth to grind the plant matter down. They will also consume specific plants such as fungi as they carry bacteria capable of digesting cellulose.


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  • Deer
  • Moose
  • Bison
  • Beaver
  • Rabbit
  • Hare
  • Fruit bats
  • Manatee


There are also hundreds of species that are omnivorous, meaning they eat both vegetation and meat. This includes animals such as:

  • Coyotes
  • Wolves
  • Seals
  • Otter
  • Bears  


Carnivores will eat almost all of the animals, including the organs, skin, bone, and even the stomach contents. This is called tripe, and it is a popular cooking ingredient in many parts of the world.


  • Squirrels
  • Chipmunks
  • Gray fox
  • Red fox
  • Raccoon
  • Badger
  • Dogs







Dehydration is a fatal condition for wild animals. The longer an animal goes without water, the more serious its health will become. Their digestion will slow down, waste will not be filtered and excreted efficiently, and they would be unable to maintain a stable body temperature. Eventually, their organs would begin to shut down, and the animal would die.

This is true even for animals in desert habitats that can survive longer without water. At some point, they too need to find a water source. Droughts in desert areas can cause the deaths of thousands of animals.

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Photo of cougar


Shelter is important for several reasons. A shelter could be a small hollow in the ground, a tree, or a complex den. Animals use shelters for:

  • Protection of offspring
  • Protection from predators
  • Protection from the elements

Most hibernating animals will dig a den or burrow underground. Some build a nest in a tree hollow. In residential areas, small animals will build nests in birdhouses or garden sheds.


Bears dig dens in late summer or early fall, ready for hibernation. The den is usually just big enough for the mother and her cub to fit. It keeps a stable temperature due to its small size and can easily hide from potential predators who may see a bear cub as easy prey.

Animals living in harsh conditions will use their shelter to guard against the elements. In desert environments, a well-placed burrow will maintain a cool temperature for an animal to avoid the daytime heat, as well as a safe place to sleep.

In cold climates such as the Arctic, a den or even a shallow dug patch of snow offers protection from strong winds. Seals will often build shallow nests on ice floes during the breeding season to shelter their pups from severe weather.

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Animals that live in herds need a large amount of space to accommodate all members of the group. Some animals, like bison, are quite large, so they require even more space. A group can be a family group of parents and offspring or several family groups together.

Too many animals in a small space can easily spread disease, and animals cannot get away from one another to avoid fights. This is why most herding animals live in open spaces like grasslands.

Some animals are solitary, only coming together to breed. A small number of seal species are solitary during the fall and winter but form large groups during springtime when males spar to win rights to breed with the females.


Habitats with large open spaces give animals the ability to find privacy from other animals. The same is true for arboreal animals (those that live in trees). The more trees there are, the more opportunity there is for privacy and also more nesting spots.

The territory is also important. Solitary animals tend to establish their territory and will aggressively defend their home range. A large area provides enough space for several animals to all have their territory.




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Barnard, E. (2015, May 29). The Importance of Fresh Water. Retrieved from Animal Friends: https://www.animalfriends.co.uk/blog/fresh-water/

Davis, S. (2018, March 13). 5 Basic Needs of an Animal. Retrieved from Sciencing: https://sciencing.com/5-basic-needs-animal-12001250.html

Knowledgiate. (2017, April 15). Why Do Animals Need Water To Survive? Retrieved from Knowledge: https://www.knowledgiate.com/why-do-animals-need-water/

Spelman, L. (2013, June 21). Animal Homes and Habitats. Retrieved from National Geographic: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/media/animal-homes-and-habitats/?utm_source=BibblioRCM_Row

Tomasko, T. (2021). What Animals Need to Live. Retrieved from Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences: https://ecosystems.psu.edu/outreach/youth/sftrc/lesson-plans/wildlife/k-5/animal-needs

Bryan Harding


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