Where Wildlife live

forest

n. a large area of land that is naturally covered with many trees growing close together and with other plants growing on and under the trees  

[note: There are many different kinds of forest.  They are usually named for the climate that affects them or for the kinds of trees that grow there. This depends on how warm or cool it is; how much rain it gets and how high it is.  In some areas the rainfall changes during the year and this affects the kinds of trees that grow, so these forests are called seasonal. Forests that have rainfall all year are called  rainforests. Evergreen forests have trees that are always green. Deciduous forests have trees that drop all their leaves during long dry or cold times.  

Some forests have names that describe what people do or have done to them.  A virgin or primary forest is a forest that has never been cut and is healthy. A secondary forest has regrown after it was cut or destroyed by some natural disaster.  A degraded forest has some parts where no trees are left and other parts where many trees are small and bent. A plantation forest has been planted with many trees of the same kind so that they can all be cut when they are grown. 

Sometimes an area is called a forest, but there are almost no trees left because of logging, fire, farming, etc. 40% of the world's forests have been destroyed already. Of the forest that remains, about 65% is degraded. There is only a very small amount of virgin forest left. We must protect it. It is a non-renewable resource.]

See: deforestation, forest products, reserve forest, seed tree, watershed protection

grassland

n. a wide, open area where most of the plants are wild grasses 

[note: Grasslands are one of the main kinds of vegetation in the world. About 20% of the Earth is grassland.  There are many different kinds of grassland, eg. pampas, prairie, savanna and steppe. However, most native grasses have been cut down to grow crops, non-native grasses and food for animals. In some parts of the world, forests have been cut down to make a kind of grassland for livestock. These non-native grasses them do not protect the soil , so there can be more soil erosion.] 

See: desertification, livestock, ranch, salinisation

marine

adj. about things that are found in or on the sea or ocean  

[note: Marine national parks are areas that are protected because of the diversity of species that live there. Some marine national parks are on the reef, others have been built on the shore.  They are places where people can see and experience the beauty of the marine environment and learn about the things that threaten life in the sea.] 

See: coral reef, dolphin, whale

montane

adj. about animals and plants that live in or come from mountainous areas  

(eg. Pine trees are common in montane forests.)

See: alpine

riverine

adj. about plants and animals that live near rivers 

[note: Riverine habitats are important in drought or fire. Birds, mammals, insects, reptiles and amphibians all go there for protection.] 

 

urban

adj. about cities or towns and the things that happen there; opposite of rural 

[note: More and more people are moving from rural areas to live in town and cities. This movement is called urban drift; and the way cities and towns grow bigger because of this is called urban sprawl. Most urban drift and urban sprawl happens because people come into the cities to look for work. 

Cities are not only home to people, they have become a separate kind of ecosystem.  Urban ecosystems include buildings, streets, parking lots, parks, gardens, lakes and lawns.  Often indigenous plants have been replaced by introduced species and the wildlife is different, because some animals have moved away and others have thrived and increased in numbers.]  

See: rural-urban migration, satellite town

wetland

n. an area of land that is covered with shallow water and plants 

[note: A wetland can be freshwater, saltwater or brackish water. It may be permanent or temporary , natural or human-made. Swamps, shallow lakes, marshes, estuaries, lagoons, mangrove forests, flood plains and bogs are kinds of natural wetland areas. Paddies, reservoirs and sewage treatment plants are human-made wetlands.  

Many plants, fish and birds live in wetlands. Wetlands hold a lot of water. This helps to stop floods . The water in wetlands also goes into the ground and recharges the groundwater. Wetland plants can clean sewage and dirty or polluted water. More than 80,600,000 hectares of wetlands are protected under the Ramsar Convention.] 

See: Appendix F

[quote: John Dryzek

"Once marshy areas were called swamps.  the only sensible thing to do was drain them, so the land could be put to some useful purpose.  Governments subsidised landowners to drain swamps.  Today we call these same areas wetlands and governments have enacted legislation to protect their recognised value in providing habitat for wildlife, stabilisation of eco-systems and absorption of pollutants."]

What roles Wildlife have

carnivore

n. an animal that eats mainly meat; animals in the Carnivora order  

[note: Cats, dogs and bears are carnivores.  Some plants are also carnivorous, eg. fly traps.  Carnivores are higher up the food chain than herbivores and they need a lot more land to live on.]  

See: herbivore, omnivore, Picture at food web, piscivore, predator, vegetarian

consumer

n. 1. anyone who buys and uses goods and services 

[note:  People with money in all parts of the world are consumers, but most consumers live in industrialised countries .  Consumers are an important part of the economy because they create demand.  They choose mostly according to how much something costs. They often do not know, or do not choose to know how much it costs the environment or how little people in other parts of the world are paid to produce some things.  People who want to try not to buy things that are bad for the environment are sometimes called green consumers.  However, some people say that being a green consumer is impossible,  because the two parts - protecting and consuming go against each other.   Perhaps it is only possible to try not to buy too much of anything and to try to have an influence on manufacturers, eg. by not buying products tested on animals, or only buying tropical hardwood from secondary growth forests.]  

See: consumerism, fair trade, greed, obsolescencen. 2. a living thing that can not make its own food and needs to eat other things to stay alive; opposite of producer  

[note: Almost all animals, birds, and fish are consumers. Some plants are also consumers. Consumers are near the top of the food chain.]  

See: decomposer, nutrient cycle

decomposer

n. one of the living things that help break dead things down  

[note: Fungi and bacteria are decomposers that live by taking elements like nitrogen out of dead organic matter and using them to grow. When the fungi die, this nitrogen goes into the soil and makes it more fertile. Worms are another kind of decomposer that help the organic matter in soil to break down.  Decomposers are important part of the food chain because without them, the ground would be littered with waste matter from producers and consumers.]

See: carbon cycle, consumer, nitrogen cycle, nutrient cycle, producer, trophic level

detritus

n. 1. small pieces of rock or waste material lying on the ground  

[note: Detritus may have been worn away by weathering or erosion or it may be the result of a building being demolished or destroyed.]

n. 2. small pieces of dead organic matter 

[note: Detritus can include fallen leaves, twigs and animal waste.  It lies under plants or on the forest floor. Snails, earthworms, insect larvae and bacteria feed on the detritus.  They are called detrivores. They digest the detritus and help with soil formation.]

See: decomposer

herbivore

n. an animal that only eats plants 

[note: Elephants and deer are wild herbivores.  Cattle, sheep and goats are herbivores that are kept as livestock.  Herbivores are an important part of the food chain.] 

See: carnivore, insectivore, omnivore, piscivore, vegetarian

insectivore

n. a bird, animal or reptile that eats insects  

[note:  Insectivores are an important part of the food web and they help keep a balance in nature so that no species becomes too abundant.  The woodpecker is an insectivorous bird that protects trees by eating the termites that attack them.  Some plants, eg. the Venus flytrap, are insectivorous.  They can live in poor soil by supplementing their nutrition with captured insects.Predators that eat spiders and other small, crawling creatures   are sometimes called insectivores although their prey are not strictly insects. ]

predator

n. 1. an animal, insect, reptile or bird that hunts, kills and eats other animals; opposite of prey  

[note: Predators are part of the natural cycle.  They control numbers.  Eagles are predators that feed on small animals.  An animal or bird that kills is called predatory.  The same word is used for and people who take advantage of others.]

See: parasite, preyn. 2. seed predators destroy seeds by crushing them when they eat  

[note:  Small rodents, eg. rats and mice, and insects, especially ants, are seed predators because they break up the seed and stop it germinating.  Seed predators are a threat when seeds are being stored and when the seeds have been dispersed.   The act of destroying seeds by crushing and eating them is called predation.  Levels of seed predation are different according to what seed it is, how big it is and where it is.] 

See: seed dispersal

prey

n. 1. an animal that is hunted and killed by another animal or person; opposite of predator  

[note:  Birds that hunt and kill their food are called birds of prey.  The eagle, the falcon and the owl are all birds of prey.]

v. 2. to hunt and kill, usually an animal that is lower in the food chain 

(eg. Water snakes prey on frogs.) 

saprophyte

n. a living thing that lives on dead things 

[note: Saprophytes are plants that work as decomposers.  Fungi, bacteria are saprophytes.  They  break down compounds in dead plants or animals. They absorb the nutrients they need and release others into the environment for other organisms to use.  Saprotrophs and saprovores are small animals  such as insect larvae and snails that also work as decomposers.  They feed on dead organisms.]

See: food chain, nutrient cycle

How we classify wildlife

amphibian

n. one of a group of animals that spend part of their time on land and part in the water; animals in the Amphibia class  

[note: Frogs, crocodiles and toads are amphibians. They have fish tails when they are young, but four legs when they are adult. Most have skins that need water to pass over them often and they are cold-blooded. They lay eggs, usually in large numbers.  

There are about 5,500 different species of amphibians, but numbers have decreased rapidly in the past 20 years.  This  has been caused by habitat destruction, over-exploitation, introduced species, pollution and climate change. 

There are also some amphibious mammals, eg. whales, seals and dolphins. ] 

animal

n. a living thing that can feel and move by itself; any organism from the Animalia kingdom 

[note: People use 'animal' to mean different things.  Sometimes it means all living things except plants; sometimes all living things except people; and sometimes only mammals - not birds, fish, reptiles or insects. 

Animals meaning mammals are also divided into other groups: wild animals, eg. tigers and monkeys;  domestic animals, eg. dogs, cats, cows and chickens; and feral animals, eg. goats, cats and horses that are living wild.] 

See: carnivore, fauna, herbivore, omnivore, wildlife

bird

n. a living thing that has a body covered with feathers, and wings, so it can usually fly; animals in the Aves class  

[note: Eagles, parrots, swiftlets, chickens, gulls, hawks and vultures are all birds. All birds lay eggs. Most are wild, but some eg. parrots,  are kept in cages as pets and some eg. chickens are kept as livestock. 

Birds have different roles in ecosystems.  Birds that eat insects are important as pest controllers. Those that eat seeds  are important for spreading some kinds of seed, though they also destroy others.  Birds that collect nectar from flowers help to spread pollen. Those that catch and eat small animals are called birds of prey or raptors. They help control numbers.] 

See: avian, passerine, Picture at pollination, poultry, seabird, seed dispersal, wader

class

n. 1. one of the main groups into which scientists divide all living things  

(eg. Humans are in the Animal kingdom, in the Chordata phylum and in the Mammalia class.)  

See: Appendix G, scientific name, taxonomy2. one of the groups of people into which a society can be divided 

[note:  In some countries, people can be put in a class according to their social  or economic status, eg. the working class, or according to where they live, eg. the urban class.  Different classes often have very different lifestyles.  Class divisions in a society can make it difficult for everybody to access to all the social services.]

cold-blooded

adj. about an animal whose body temperature changes with the outside temperature so that it is as warm or as cold as the place where it is 

[note: Snakes, lizards and fish are cold-blooded. They lie in the morning sun to get warm before they move around.] 

See: warm-blooded

crustacean

n. a name for all the different kinds of small animals that mostly live in water and have hard shells and many legs; animals in the Crustacea class; also called shellfish  

[note: Prawns, crabs and shrimps are all crustaceans. Many people like to eat crustaceans so they are often bred on fish farms. 

A few crustaceans have adapted to life on land, eg. wood lice.] 

endangered

adj. about something that is in a dangerous situation where it could be harmed, killed or lost 

[note: Endangered is used most often to talk about a species, but we are becoming more aware that other kinds of living things can also be endangered and in need of protection. A tribe, a language or a culture can be endangered. An endangered language is one that has very few speakers left.  When these speakers die, all the knowledge that that group had about its history, its culture and its environment is lost for ever.] 

See: indigenous knowledge, threatened, vulnerable

extinct

adj. 1. an extinct animal, plant, bird, insect or fish cannot be found anywhere in the world  

[note:  During the history of life on Earth, about five billion species have come into being.  Most are now extinct.  There are three main reasons why they stopped living: because their environment suddenly changed and they had no time to adapt;  because  a new predator, a natural disaster or a disease killed them; or because they could not compete with another (new) species for food.  Living things have always become extinct as the result of natural selection.  It is a normal part of evolution. It has happened slowly and gradually.  

The present situation is different.  More than a million living things are in danger of becoming extinct in the next ten years. This is happening because of what people are doing, eg.  hunting and killing too many, or destroying their habitat. 

The IUCN list a species as Extinct  (EX) where they are certain that the last individual has died. This is decided after a number of surveys of areas where the species is expected to live. The surveys must be done at the right time of day and the right season to see it.  A species is listed as Extinct in the Wild (EW) by the IUCN when it can only be found in zoos. 

The state of being extinct is called extinction.  The IUCN is concerned about biological extinction .  The food industry and the fisheries industry are also concerned about commercial extinction. ]

See: deforestation, extirpation, habitat loss, Red Data Book, threatened species, wildlife tradeadj. 2. an extinct volcano will never erupt again 

See: active, dormant

family

n. (pl.families) 1. a group of people who are related to one another by birth or by marriage 

[note:  Different societies  think of family in different ways.  A nuclear family is mother, father and children;  an extended family also includes grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins.]  

n. 2. one of the groups that scientists divide all living and extinct things into 

[note:  In science, a tiger is in the Mammalia class of animals. It is in the order Carnivora, and in the Felidae or cat family. Families can also be divided into sub-families , eg. the tiger is a cat in the genus Panthera and the common cat is in the genus Felix.] 

See: Appendix G

fish

n. 1. a living thing that lives and swims in water 

[note: A fish uses its tail and fins to swim and its gills to take oxygen from the water. Its body is covered in scales . Fish are cold-blooded vertebrates that live in freshwater or in saltwater.  Saltwater fish may live in the shallow water around a reef or in the open water away from the land.  These fish, eg. tuna, are called pelagic.  A fish can be very small, like an anchovy, or very big, like a shark. Most fish are silver or dark grey in colour but fish on tropical reefs are often brightly coloured. Fish are the main protein food for many people in Asia. Fish belong to the Agnatha, Chondrichthyes or Osteichthyes classes.] 

v. 2. to catch fish 

[note: People catch fish in many different ways. Fishing with small nets, traps or spears,to catch enough fish for a family, does not threaten fish numbers. However, industrial fishing methods, which catch all the fish in an area, cause the problems of overfishing.  People who catch fish as the main part of their livelihood are called fisher folk or fishermen.] 

genus

n. (pl.genera) one of the groups into which scientists divide all living things  

[note: Members of a genus are closely related, but there are important differences. For example, the tiger and the common cat are in the Felidae family. However, the tiger is in the genus Panthera and the common cat is in the genus Felis. They are related, but they cannot interbreed, as members of the same species can.] 

See: Appendix G, scientific name, species, taxonomy

insect

n. a small living thing that has six legs and three main parts to its body; animals in the Insecta class 

[note:  Ants, aphids, bees, butterflies, cockroaches, grasshoppers, locusts and mosquitoes are all insects. All insects are born from eggs, and grow through different stages, eg. larva then pupa, until they are adults.  

Insects play many important roles in nature, eg. in the food chain; in  the carbon cycle, breaking down dead plants and animals; and in helping plants to reproduce.  

Some insects are seen by people as pests, eg. mosquitoes, which spread serious diseases. In agriculture, insect pests cause three types of problem.  Chewing insects such as caterpillars and weevils feed on leaves and seeds.  Sucking insects such as aphids and mites feed on the plant's sap.  Soil insects such as grubs cause plants to wilt.  A lot of money is spent on insecticides to get rid of insect pests .] 

See: caterpillar, maggot, nymph, Pics at butterfly, bee & mosquito, swarm

invertebrate

n. an animal without a backbone; opposite of vertebrate 

[note: Invertebrates are one of the phyla into which the animal kingdom is classified.  There are at least 1,500,000 invertebrates. We still have no idea how many, because they have never been counted. Worms, slugs, leeches, snails and some kinds of fish are invertebrates. It is the invertebrates that sustain the ecology of the Earth, but we spend much more time thinking about the vertebrates… is that just because they are bigger?] 

kingdom

n. one of the groups into which scientists divide all living things  

[note: A  kingdom includes all the living things that are the same in some way.  There are five kingdoms. The Animalia kingdom includes all animals, birds, amphibians, fish and insects. The Plantae kingdom includes all plants. The Monera kingdom includes bacteria and blue-green algae. The Fungi kingdom includes mushrooms and all other fungi. The Protoctista kingdom includes single cell amoebae and some kinds of algae.] 

See: Appendix G, phylum, scientific name, taxonomy

mammal

n. a kind of animal that gives birth to live babies and produces milk to feed the babies; animals in the Mammalia class  

[note: Mammals are warm-blooded and are covered with hair. Humans, rats, whales, dolphins, horses, sheep, tigers and elephants are all mammals. Birds and snakes are not mammals, because they lay eggs.] 

order

n. 1. one of the main groups into which scientists divide living things  

[note:  In a taxonomy of the animal kindom, the Mammalia class of animals is divided into different orders. The order Carnivora includes all the species that eat meat.]  

n. 2. a legal document that says something must be done 

[note:  A preservation order can stop a developer from pulling down an important building.] 

n. 3. the way in which a group of things is organised 

(eg. After a forest fire, plants return in order: first come herbs and grasses, then fast-growing trees, and last of all, the big forest trees come back.)  

phylum

n. (pl.phyla) one of the main groups into which scientists divide all living things  

[note:  Animals with backbones belong to the Chordata phylum.)  

See: Appendix G, kingdom, scientific name, taxonomy

rare

adj. 1. about anything that is hard to find and is interesting or valuable because of this; opposite of common 

[note:  Something that is rare often has a rarity value.  People are willing to pay a lot just because it is rare. Rarity value encourages the poaching of elephants and tigers and other endangered species.]  

 

See: IUCN, Red Data Book, scarce, threatened speciesadj. 2. rarefied air has less oxygen than usual 

[note:  In high mountain areas the air is rarefied.  The people and animals who live there have adjusted to it, but if you go there, you will find it difficult to breathe.]

reptile

n. the name for a group of animals that are cold-blooded, lay eggs and have skin with scales; animals in the Reptilia class 

[note: Lizards, snakes, crocodiles and turtles are reptiles. Their bodies do not make their own heat; they are the same temperature as the air around them, so they lie in the sun to get warm before they move around.] 

See: amphibian

species

n. (pl.species) all the members of a group of living things which are able to breed together and which look similar and have similar characteristics and genetics 

[note: Species is one of the groups into which scientists divide all living things.   For example, lions, tigers and leopards are all members of the cat family, but they are different species. They look different and they cannot breed together.  

Species is a basic part of biodiversity.  The Red Data Book divides species according to how much they are threatened with extinction, eg. endangered species, critically endangered species or vulnerable species.   Environmentalists describe species according to how they relate to their environment, eg. indigenous species, introduced species, invasive species, keystone species, indicator species, or pioneer species.]  

See: Appendix G, genus, sub-species, taxonomy

threat

n. a danger that something bad will happen and cause damage or danger 

[note:  Threats can come from people or from things. For example, a toxic waste dump is a threat to the health of people living nearby. If you feel afraid that something or someone could hurt you, you feel threatened.]

vertebrate

n. any living thing with a line of bones down the middle of its back; opposite of invertebrate 

[note:  There are about 2000 vertebrates in the world. All mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and most fish are vertebrates. They all have a spine, which is also called a backbone.]  

vulnerable

adj. people, animals or places that are vulnerable are easily attacked or harmed 

[note:  A group of people may be vulnerable because of physical conditions (where they live), social conditions   (who they are) or economic conditions (how they earn a living).  If any of these conditions get worse, the vulnerable people will not be able to go on.   

The state of being vulnerable is called vulnerability.  Poverty always increases vulnerability.   

Environmentalists use vulnerability indicators to assess how easily a community or a species can be harmed. The vulnerability indicators will include:  how close does the community live to a hazard? how much fear will the hazard  produce? can the community plan how to deal with a disaster?and how well will they be able to recover from it?]

See: justice

[quote: Sachs, 2003 p6  "At a certain degree of vulnerability, then, burdens tip over into injustice and threaten the basic rights of the people involved."  ]

warm-blooded

adj. about animals whose body temperature stays about the same all the time; opposite of cold-blooded 

[note: Mammals and birds are warm-blooded. Warm-blooded animals use some of their food energy to stay warm.] 

How we talk about wildlife

avian

adj. about birds or things connected with birds 

[note: Avian flu

bug

n. 1. an everyday word for any insect, especially one that people do not like 

See: beetlen. 2. an everyday word for a virus or bacterium that causes disease 

(eg. She has a stomach bug.) 

creature

n. any living thing that can walk, swim, fly or move part of itself  

[note: Creature is an idea used in everyday language, not scientific language. Birds, animals, fish and insects are creatures, but plants and bacteria are not.] 

fauna

n. all the animals, birds, insects and fish that live in a particular area or at a particular time  

(eg. They made a list of the fauna in the national park.)  

See: creature, flora, organism, wildlife

feral

adj. about an animal that used to live with people but is now living wild in Nature and is not controlled or looked after by anyone; opposite of domestic. 

[note: Buffaloes, cats, dogs, goats, pigs, rabbits and horses have all become feral in different parts of the world. Feral animals are not the same as wild animals. This is because they are introduced species. They can become problems for the environment because they may prey on native species or at least compete with them for available food and space.  They can pollute the genetics of native animals, introducing unwanted characteristics and changing species.  Some cause a lot of damage to crops. 

On the other hand, some feral animals  can be caught and used to pull equipment or as food.  In some cases, feral animals provide a much needed source of genetic diversity.] 

See: goat, horse

flock

n. a group of birds or of grass-eating animals such as deer or sheep  

(eg. There is a flock of ducks living near the pond. The farmer has a flock of 300 sheep.) 

See: herd, pack, swarm

poultry

n. a name for any kinds of bird that people keep for their eggs or for meat; also called domestic fowl  

[note:  Chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese are all kept as poultry.] 

See: avain flu, factory farming, free-range, livestock

game

n. wild animals, birds and fish that are hunted and killed for sport, for food, or for their fur or other parts of the body 

[note: Elephants, bears, tigers are called game, but small wild animals and insects are not called game .  Game fishing is a popular sport in both rivers (eg. for salmon and trout) and on the ocean (eg. for sail fish and marlin.  Many game animals and fish are now threatened because they have been over-hunted.] 

See: CITES, prey, wildlife

herd

n. 1. a large group of animals of one kind that lives and feeds together 

[note: Goats, cattle, buffaloes, elephants and deer all live in herds.]  

See: flock, shoal, tribev. 2. to move cattle from one place to another 

(eg. The farmers herd their cows to new grazing areas when the rains stop.)

indigenous

adj. about  plants, animals or people that have lived in one place for a very long time and that naturally belong there; also called local or native 

[note:  Indigenous was first used for plants and animals and only later applied to people.] 

juvenile

n. 1. a person, animal, insect, bird, fish or plant that is not yet fully grown 

[note:  Juveniles are important  for the well-being of any species even though they are not yet ready to breed.  If too many juveniles are taken by fishing boats, a fishery can be destroyed.] 

adj. 2. juvenile water is water formed deep in the Earth, which has never been in the atmosphere or part of the water cycle

pack

n. 1. a group of dogs or other hunting animals  

(eg. The pack of wolves moved through the forest.) 

v. 2. to put something into a box or other container 

(eg. The factory packs eggs from the local farms.)  

n. 3. a pack animal is used for carrying things 

[note: Horses and donkeys are used as pack animals.]

passerine

adj. about birds that perch 

[note: The feet of passerine birds are specially adapted so that they can hold on to a branch.  They have three toes forward and one toe pointing backward.  More than half the species of bird are passerine.  Parrots, birds of prey and any birds that live in trees are all passerine .  Waders and waterfowl are non-passerine.]

See: aerial, wader

pest

n. any small animal, insect or plant that people think is harmful 

[note: Some insects, especially cockroaches and mosquitoes, small animals, eg. rats, weeds and some fungi are usually called pests. However, people have different ideas about what is a pest. Any living thing can be called a pest if people do not want it where it is.  For example, the rabbit is considered a pest in Australia, yet people from Europe took it there as food.  In agriculture, a pest is anything that harms production.] 

See: infestation, introduced species, invasive species, vermin, weed

primate

n. one of a group of intelligent animals which have hands that are able to hold things   

[note: Primates include monkeys, gibbons, orangutans, apes and humans. Most primates live in tropical rainforests.  They  are threatened because their habitats are being destroyed.  Also, because all primates are closely related to people, some species are used to test if new medicines are safe for people. Many primates have been trapped and killed for this reason, so some species are now endangered.]  

See: animal rights, CITES, homosapiens, rhesus monkey, vivisection

vermin

n. a name used for any small animals or insects that people think are a problem 

[note: Rats, cockroaches, lice and other animals that harm food, plants or health and are difficult to control are called vermin.] 

See: pest, pesticide, vermicide

young

adj. 1. A person who is young has been alive for only a short time; opposite of old 

[note:  The time between being a baby and an adult is called youth, and young people are also called  youth when we are talking about them as a group,]

See: maturen. 2. the children of an animal; also called offspring 

(eg. The female elephant will fight to protect her young.)