From a purely scientific standpoint, adaptations are features that suit an organism or species for its niche and habitat. However, from a creationist’s viewpoint we see adaptation as the natural God given variation that was designed by him to allow organisms to function effectively in a differing array of environments.  This means that the creature was designed with plan and purpose to function within the given environment.  Creatures that live in cold environments have fur and blubber because that was part of God’s plan.  From the Biblical view, all organisms were created with the genetic variability, to produce all the diversity seen within created kinds.  Post-Flood events that isolated these creatures in a given environment caused specific traits to be more prominent due to death of creatures lacking the God given characteristics to live in that environment.  This is the very reason why we see creatures all over the world that are similar, but live in different niches of a given habitat.

Evolutionists explain adaptation as the process where organisms become better suited for their environment or in other words if an organism lives in a cold environment they may grow fur or a thick layer of blubber to combat the cooler temperatures.  Therefore, from this view the organisms that are better able to survive in a specific environment will have offspring better able to survive in that environment and those that are not as well adapted to that environment will have offspring that will be out competed or selected against leaving less of their genes in the next generation.  This view explains that each proceeding generation is bigger and better and will eventually evolve and take the place of the less suitable organisms.  Those that did not develop these characteristics would freeze to death.