Desert Animals: How 20 Species Survive Heat and Drought

How desert animals save water and beat the heat

Deserts receive less than about 250 mm (10 in) of rain a year, and many are scorching by day but cold at night. Animals cope with four main strategies:

• Avoiding the heat. Many desert animals are nocturnal or active only at dawn and dusk. A burrow just under the surface can be tens of degrees cooler than the sand above.
• Getting water from food. Plants, seeds and prey all contain water. Breaking down food also produces “metabolic water” inside the body.
• Losing less water. Desert mammals have kidneys that make very concentrated urine, and birds and reptiles excrete waste as a nearly dry paste of uric acid.
• Tolerating heat and thirst. Some animals let their body temperature rise during the day instead of sweating, or survive dehydration that would kill other animals.

Sahara and Arabian deserts

1. Dromedary camel

The dromedary, or one-humped camel, can lose more than 30% of its body water and keep going, where most mammals would die at about half that. It lets its body temperature rise by several degrees during the day before sweating, and its hump stores fat, not water. A thirsty camel can drink about 100 liters (26 US gallons) in around 10 minutes. Find out more in How long can a camel go without water?

2. Fennec fox

The fennec fox is the smallest member of the dog family, weighing only about 1–1.9 kg (2.2–4.2 lb). Its huge ears, roughly 9–15 cm (3.5–6 in) long, give off body heat and pick up the sounds of insects underground. Furry soles protect its feet from hot sand, and it gets most of its water from food. See Why do fennec foxes have big ears?

3. Addax

The addax is a pale antelope of the deep Sahara, able to survive almost indefinitely without free water by eating plants and the dew that condenses on them. It also produces highly concentrated urine. Overhunting has made it Critically Endangered: the only known self-sustaining wild population is in the Termit area of Niger, and probably fewer than 100 animals remain in the wild.

4. Arabian oryx

The Arabian oryx has a bright white coat that reflects sunlight, and it wanders long distances to find fresh grazing after rare rains. It can go weeks without drinking, getting water from plants and dew. Hunted out in the wild by 1972, it was saved by captive breeding and reintroduction and is now listed as Vulnerable.

5. Dorcas gazelle

This small, pale gazelle of North Africa and the Middle East gets most of its water from juicy plants, though it drinks when it finds water. In the hottest months it is active mainly at dawn, at dusk and after dark. It is listed as Vulnerable.

6. Jerboas

Jerboas are small, nocturnal rodents that hop on long hind legs like tiny kangaroos, using a long tufted tail for balance. They spend the hot day in burrows, often closing the entrance with sand to keep the air inside cool and humid.

7. Sandgrouse

Sandgrouse are pigeon-like birds that nest far from water. Males have special belly feathers that soak up water like a sponge. They fly to a waterhole, wade in, and carry the water back to their chicks, which drink from the wet feathers.

8. Saharan silver ant

The Saharan silver ant forages at midday, when air temperatures can reach about 47 °C (117 °F) and few predators are active. Silvery hairs reflect sunlight and help shed heat. It is the fastest ant known, running at 855 mm (34 in) per second, using only four of its six legs at top speed.

9. Desert scorpions

Scorpions such as the deathstalker survive by using very little energy. A waxy outer layer reduces water loss, and their slow metabolism lets many species go months without eating. They hide under rocks or in burrows by day and hunt insects at night.

Kalahari and Namib deserts

10. Meerkat

Meerkats live in family groups in the Kalahari of southern Africa. They rarely need to drink, getting water from insects, scorpions, roots and wild melons, and they have a low metabolic rate that saves water and food. Find out more in What do meerkats eat?

11. Namib fog-basking beetle

In the coastal Namib Desert, almost no rain falls, but fog often rolls in from the Atlantic at night. The darkling beetle Onymacris unguicularis climbs to the crest of a dune, faces the wind and stands head-down. Fog droplets collect on its back and run down to its mouth.

Asian deserts

12. Bactrian camel

The two-humped Bactrian camel lives in the cold deserts of Central Asia, including the Gobi, where temperatures range from summer heat to winter lows far below freezing. It grows a thick winter coat and can eat snow for water. The wild Bactrian camel, a separate species, is reported to drink water saltier than seawater. Compare the two camels in dromedary vs Bactrian camel.

Australian deserts

13. Thorny devil

The thorny devil is a spiky lizard that drinks with its skin. Tiny grooves between its scales draw water from damp sand, dew or rain toward its mouth by capillary action. It eats ants, often thousands in a single day.

14. Red kangaroo

The red kangaroo, the largest living marsupial, rests in shade during hot days. It cools down by panting and by licking its forearms, so that evaporating saliva cools the blood vessels close to the skin. Its kidneys reabsorb water efficiently, so it can survive long periods without drinking.

15. Water-holding frog

The water-holding frog of inland Australia stores water in its bladder and body after heavy rain, then burrows into the ground and seals itself in a cocoon of shed skin. It stays underground in a dormant state called estivation until the next soaking rain, which may be months away.

North American deserts

16. Merriam’s kangaroo rat

This small rodent of the southwestern US and Mexico rarely drinks. It eats dry seeds and gets most of its water from its own metabolism, helped by kidneys that make extremely concentrated urine. Stored seeds in its humid burrow even absorb moisture from the air before the rat eats them.

17. Greater roadrunner

The greater roadrunner of the US Southwest and Mexico runs at up to about 32 km/h (20 mph). It gets most of its water from its prey, which includes lizards, insects and small snakes. Salt glands in its head remove excess salt, and its gut reabsorbs water before waste is excreted.

18. Gila monster

The Gila monster is a slow, venomous lizard that spends about 90% of its life underground. It stores fat in its thick tail and can survive on a few large meals a year. It is listed as Near Threatened. See How often do Gila monsters eat?

19. Mojave desert tortoise

The Mojave desert tortoise spends at least 95% of its life in burrows, escaping ground temperatures that can exceed 60 °C (140 °F). After rain it drinks deeply from temporary pools and can store water in its bladder for the dry months. It is listed as Critically Endangered.

20. Couch’s spadefoot toad

Couch’s spadefoot spends most of the year buried underground in a watertight cocoon. When summer thunderstorms fill temporary pools, it emerges and breeds the same night. Its tadpoles race to become toads before the pools dry, sometimes in as little as 9 days.

Desert survival tricks at a glance

Are desert animals in danger?

Desert species are often thinly spread and slow to recover. The addax and the Mojave desert tortoise are Critically Endangered, and the dorcas gazelle and Arabian oryx are Vulnerable. Overhunting has emptied much of the Sahara of large mammals, while roads, off-road driving, livestock grazing and drought threaten others. The Arabian oryx shows that recovery is possible: in 2011 it became the first animal to move from Extinct in the Wild to Vulnerable.