Many animals live in different bodies of water. These animals are referred to as aquatic animals. The bodies of water can either be fresh or salty water.

Freshwater Habitats

Animal habitats in fresh water include lakes, rivers, streams, and springs. These bodies of water do not contain salt. All of them are home to a wide variety of marine creatures.

Lakes

A lake is a large body of water that is surrounded by land on all sides. Although the soil in a lake is supersaturated with water, its isolation from other bodies of water limits the number of organisms that can live in it.

There are 216 lakes in the Philippines. Among the major ones are Taal Lake in Batangas, Laguna de Bay in Laguna, and Lake Lanao in Lanao del Sur.

Rivers, streams, and springs

Rivers, streams, and springs are other freshwater habitats. They may vary in their size and range, with rivers as the bigger bodies of water, yet they share a common feature: they all flow continuously in one direction to get to a sea or an ocean. Thus, animals that make these bodies of water their habitats have to be able to keep from being carried away by the water’s current. Some species of insects, fishes, snakes, turtles, crocodiles, otters, and beavers are just some of the animals that live or feed in rivers, streams, and springs.

The Philippines counts 18 rivers among its major waterways, with Cagayan River as the longest river. Among the country’s big rivers are the Pasig, Agno, Pampanga, Marikina, Palanan, and Bicol Rivers.

The Philippines has around 330 species of freshwater fish, including the Taal herring, a sardine that has adapted to freshwater. Sardines typically grow in salty water. Other animals found in Philippine lakes and rivers are freshwater crab species, along with grazing snails, clams, and oysters.