LIFE IN THE DESERT

There’s no doubt the desert looks forbidding; it is a dry, uninhabitable landscape. We know that humans, animals, and plants all need water to survive, so it makes sense to think that there is very little life to be found in the desert. You’d be wrong, though; deserts around the world are actually teeming with living things!

1) Heat

• Most desert animals have evolved over time to be able to handle extreme heat as well as low water availability.

• Many animals that live in the desert are forced to be active only at dusk and dawn, in order to avoid direct sunlight

  and the hottest parts of the day (this is why people rarely see rattlesnakes).

• Some desert lizards actually have longer legs so that they can run super quickly across hot surfaces to avoid getting burned!

  2) Water

• Water can certainly be scarce in desert landscapes! Animals that can retain water are more likely to survive in the

  desert.

• The cactus is a succulent plant, meaning that it holds on to water. Most desert insects and many animals get water through eating cacti!

• Animals like the desert toad hibernate during the driest parts of the year and “wake up” again once there are signs of rain.

  3) Types of Animals

• Different types ofanimals live indifferent desert regions.

• Animals like the jerboa (a small rodent resembling a rabbit), the Fennec fox (a very small fox), and the camel (which stores water in humps on its back) all call the Sahara Desert home.