Desert animals

Desert AnimalsDesert animals can handle the desert heat and lack of water.

Their bodies and behaviors is made to bare the desert climate.

Most can survive on small amounts of water and many get all of their water from their food.

Some drink maybe once a week and travel considerable distances to find isolated water holes and springs.

Large animals seek shade during the hottest part of the day.

This animal looks like a rat, but lives in the desert. What

could it be?

Kangaroo Rat

• Kangaroo rat has the ability to convert the dry seeds they eat into water, and they neither sweat or pant like other animals to keep coll.

• They spend their burrows where the air is moist and humid.

This first animal is famous for it’s humps. However, we

already know that they do not have water in their humps.

CAMEL• Camels are well suited to survive the conditions of the desert.

• They are known as “The ship of desert”.

• Camels have been used for transporting goods across desert for 1000 of years.

• The hump in their back stores fat – they store water in the lining of their stomachs.

• Camels have extra long eyelashes to keep the sand out of their eyes, and big flat feet to help them walk through the sand.

• In fact camels are the only desert animals that can carry heavy loads of goods and travel for a long period of time without food or water.

Camels

Are you “hopping” for a good clue? This animal

lives in the deserts of Australia.

Red Kangaroo• Like many desert

animals, red kangaroos prefer to sleep in the day, when the desert is at it’s hottest, and wake up at nighttime, when it is actually very cold.

• That explains why many animals have fur, even in hot deserts.

There are many birds that are able to survive the harsh conditions of the desert.

Here is one of them.

Desert Lark• The desert larks’ feathers are

a light brown color, which means that it is well

camouflaged in the desert sand.

Amongst some of the desert birds are these who play

dead till the danger is over. Make a guess?

Elf Owl• One of the smallest owl in

the world, Elf owl is very small.

• It lives in the hollows out of cactus trunks, where it is protected from most predators.

• When captured, this tiny owl likes to plays dead until it is sure that all danger has passed!