This is a handy little survival trick during the dry season in their Sonoran Desert habitat. The Gila Monster-one of only two venomous lizards in the world-spends most of its life underground and can go months between meals by living off of fat stored in its tail. Camels Aren’t the Only Animals That Store Fat for Desert Survival. Camels also sport closable nostrils, a nictitating eye membrane, and wide feet that act like snowshoes in the sand. But Schwartz points out that camels also have thick hairs in their ears for keeping out sand, and the same can be said of their eyelashes-“there’s not a model out there that wouldn’t want eyelashes like that,” Schwartz says.
You know that the hump stores fat, which can be used as both a food and water source for the animal when the going gets tough. No discussion of desert survival is complete without a mention of the camel. Native to the driest areas of southern Africa, this borrowing rodent can actually use its bushy tail as a sort of parasol-a function I think we all envy from time to time. The Cape Ground Squirrel Takes Shade Everywhere It Goes. Schwartz points out that while big ears are wonderful radiators during hot days, the fox’s thick fur coat also acts as insulation during cold desert nights. The fennec fox of North Africa has large ears which Schwartz points out “serve a dual purpose”: they are great for listening for bugs to eat that may be moving around underground, but they are also loaded with blood vessels, allowing the animals to dissipate excess body heat.
and northern Mexico that the chuckwalla calls home. When facing a predator, this large lizard will scurry under a rock crevice and inflate the loose folds of skin along its body, making it difficult to pull from its hiding place-a perfect escape plan in the rocky deserts of the U.S. The Chuckwalla Is the Puffer Fish of the Desert. Not only does it help the serpents keep traction on shifting sands, but it ensures that only two points of the animals’ bodies are touching the hot ground at any given time. This unusual method of locomotion is used by two species of venomous snake-the Mojave Desert sidewinder in the southwestern United States and the Namib Desert viper in Africa. “Sidewinding” May Look Funny, But It’s Actually Highly Efficient. The South African lungfish benefits from a similar method of hibernation. When the rainy season ends on the African savannah, the second largest frog in the world burrows 6 to 8 inches underground and seals itself in a mucus membrane that “essentially hardens into a cocoon.” The frog can “hibernate” in this sac for up to seven years waiting for rain, which, when it comes, causes the mucus sac to soften, signaling to the frog that it’s time to wake up. Schwartz says it was previously believed that these animals died off during every dry season, but what was actually happening was far more interesting. The African Pyxie Frog Can Hibernate in a Water-Soluble Mucus Sac for Years. You can actually watch the lizard’s skin darken as it soaks up whatever liquid remains from even the muckiest of puddles. According to Schwartz, “the way the scales on the body are structured, it collects dew and channels it down to the corners of the mouth," where the lizard drinks it. To deal with this issue, the thorny devil has developed skin that can absorb water like blotter paper (called “capillary action”). In the Australian Outback, pooled water can be extremely hard to come by. We caught up with San Diego Zoo Ambassador and Zookeeper Rick Schwartz between television appearances in New York City to talk about the incredible ways that some creatures have adapted to survive in the desert. But without the benefit of modern technology, animals that make their home in the heat have had to come up with their own ways of staying cool and hydrated. As the summer temperatures continue to climb, you may find yourself spending more and more time indoors enjoying the comforts of central air conditioning.
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