zooligist

Camel

3 HERBIVORES

Camels

camels can go a couple days without food or water because  its stored in its hump. Camels are found in dry desert areas of southwestern Asia, the Sahara Desert in North Africa and along the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East and Indian desert areas. When running, a camel can reach about a  speed up to 40 mph in short bursts, 25 mph for longer periods of time. Camels do not have hooves. The foot of a camel is made up of a large weather-beaten pad, with two toes at the front. The padding makes the gait of a camel silent, and keeps it from sinking in the sand. The camel also has pads of thick weather beaten skin, on its leg joints, enabling it to kneel or lay in the hot sand. Similar to giraffes, camels move both legs together on each side of their body to walk.There are different sounds that the camel can make. Grumpling, bellowing and grunting sounds are common. They also can bleat like a goat or lamb. They also make a loud roaring noises.

As a domestic animal, the camel is used for milk, food and transportation. Camels can carry up to 200 lbs on their back for distances in the heat. Their dung is so dry that it can be used to fuel fires.

Desert Tortoise

Desert Tortoises have strong limbs with claws and scales to dig deep underground barriers. Their most active time is in the spring so they can maneuver for food . Since they are in hot dry climates there bodies know how to store up all their water. This is especially important in the hot, dry Mojave Desert summers. Basic Facts About Desert Tortoises

Desert Big Horn Sheep

The bighorn's body is well put together and very strong. Surprisingly they have a very short tail. The male sheep is called a ram and it is pretty obvious because of its huge brown horns. The horns curl back over the ears, down, and up past the cheeks. The females, which are called Ewes, are smaller than the rams and have shorter, smaller horns that never pass half a curl. Bighorn Sheep

3 OMNIVORES

coyote

Coyotes are often mistaken for dogs but trust me there not. The coyote's natural habitat is grassland, but he changes his diet, breeding habits and social behavior in order to survive in a new environment. He can adapt to all sorts of landscapes like, mountains, mesas, valleys, forests, swamps and even neighborhoods! The coyote is always going places where he can find food. He travels alone, in pairs or in small packs, covering an average of 100 miles a day with a range of 12 square miles.The Habitat of a Desert Coyote

Raven

Ravens are strong fliers that can hover  or soar like a hawk. They are kind of like stunt pilots sometimes,  times, doing little spins, turns and rolls in the air. The birds may form large flocks of over several hundred birds during their autumnal migration.Ravens

Desert Night Lizard

The desert Night Lizard is a desert Gray, yellow-brownish or olive. Can easily to change its color, from light olive (usually during the evening) to dark brown during the day. It has 12 scales across its tiny belly.

3 carnivores

road runner

moutian lion

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barn owl

food chain #1

the primary pruducer is the plants like cati, sage bush, rabit brush, thorn  acacias, annual flowers, etc. The primary consumer is the plant eaters or in other words herbivores like insects, lizards, rats and rodents. The secondary consumers are the carnivores like the mountain lion and road runner.

food chain 2

Biotic Factors:

Many plants and animals exist in the desert, contrary to popular opinion that deserts are desolate and sustain little life. Scorpions, coyotes, snakes, spiders, lizard, and cacti are just a few of the biotic factors.

Abiotic Factors:

Sand: The soil of a desert is mainly made up  of large sections of sand spanning over miles of land. The sand is dry and does isn't rich in minerals, enabling very little plant life to thrive on its foundation. Sometimes in cold deserts, moss and grass will connect with the sand and make soil rich sand.

(Lack of) Moisture: Precipitation of deserts vary. Depending on if the desert is dry, or cold, the amount of rainfall is different. Hot and dry deserts yield usually only yield less than 10 inches or rain per year. Cold deserts may not receive much more, but it could be in the occasional form of snow as opposed to rain.

Temperature: Hot/ dry deserts are located very near to the equator and have a very warm temperature range: 20-25° C

with an extreme of about 45 degrees celcius. Cold deserts, like in the Antarctic and Central Asia, are different from hot deserts in that their temperatures drop down much more in winter. Cold deserts' temperatures range from from -2 to 4° C in winter and in the summer 21 to 26° C.