Desert Animals Deserts in India The Cold Mountain

Desert Animals

Deserts in India • The Cold Mountain Desert of the Trans. Himalayas • The White Salt Desert of Kutch

• Thar Desert of Rajasthan

Some Deserts in the World n The Sahara Desert in Africa n Atacama Desert in Chile

§ Kalahari Desert in Nambia

Important Points of the lesson n Deserts are the driest places on earth. Some deserts are endless seas of rolling sand dunes.

n Some are rocky or pebbly and dotted with small bushes.

n Some are sprinkled with colourful flowers during the spring.

n 1. 2. Desert animals have different ways of coping with the harsh conditions of the desert. Gerbils spend the hottest part of the day in cool underground burrows. Darkling beetles are experts at catching drops of moisture on their legs, then lifting them into the air until the drops trickle into their mouth.

n n There are more than 2300 different kinds of snakes around the world, ranging from just 15 cm long to more than 11 m. Most snakes are quite harmless-but there a few that are very poisonous. Rattlesnakes are very common and widespread animals, living in the dry rocky deserts of America.

2. Rattlesnakes feed on a variety of prey which includes Mice Voles 3. Rats 4. Chipmunks n 1.

n 1. 2. 3. Mongooses moving in groups are a common sight in the deserts of Africa hunting for their food which is beetles millipedes & other small creatures.

n Mongooses are famous for being able to kill snakes without getting hurt themselves.

1. Another animal which lives in the desert is the camel. There are two different kinds of camels: Dromedary (only a single hump) 2. Bactrian (two humps) n

n n n The humps help the animal to survive in the desert by acting as storage containers. They don’t store water, but they are full of fat which nourishes the camels when food is scarce. A thirsty camel can drink as much as 30 gallons(500 full glasses) of water in just 10 minutes. However, it gets all the moisture it needs from desert plants and can survive for up to 10 months without drinking any water at all.

Vocabulary Scorching- very hot The farmer had to work in the scorching sun. n Pebbly- stony The way through the jungle was pebbly. n

n Dodge- A sudden quick movement to avoid someone or something. The cat dodged on seeing the dog. n Forage- search for food. Often animals move in groups to forage for food.

Formative Assessment Questions 1. a) b) c) d) e) State whether the given statements are true or false: All deserts are seas of sand dunes. All desert snakes are not dangerous. Mongooses are the worst enemies of snakes. Camels store water in their humps. All snakes lay eggs to bring forth their young ones.

2. Attempt this short quiz. a) A snake with a bad reputation. b) Camel with two humps. c) Worst enemies of snakes. d) Any creature that is food for mongoose. e) Young one of mongoose.

3. Answer the following in a sentence. a) Where do gerbils spend the hottest part of the day? b) What do rattlesnakes feed on? c) How do mongooses warn one another on seeing an enemy? d) What amount of water can a thirsty camel drink in just 10 minutes?