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    The GIANT Book on Desert Animals For Kids
    The GIANT Book on Desert Animals For Kids
    The GIANT Book on Desert Animals For Kids
    Ebook256 pages2 hours

    The GIANT Book on Desert Animals For Kids

    By Molly Davidson

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    About this ebook

    Table of Contents

    Introduction
    Camels
    --What is a camel?
    --What kinds of camels are there?
    --Where do camels live?
    --The history of camels and humans
    --What are camelids?
    --What do camels eat?
    Camelops
    --Dromedary camel
    --Bactrian camel
    --Hybrid camels
    --A little more on camels
    Armadillos
    --What is an armadillo?
    --How do armadillos act?
    --The history of armadillos and humans
    --Nine-banded armadillo
    --Northern naked-tailed armadillo
    --Greater fairy armadillo
    --Giant armadillo
    --Screaming hairy armadillo
    --Pink fairy armadillo
    --A little more on the armadillo
    Scorpions
    --The behavior of the scorpions
    --Habitats of the scorpions
    --Biology of the animal
    --Reproduction
    --Food habits of the scorpions
    --Some deadly species of scorpions
    --Scorpions and humans
    --Myths and stories about scorpions
    Elephants
    --About Elephants
    --The Evolution of Elephants
    --Elephant Features
    --Where Elephants Live
    --How Elephants Eat
    --How Elephants Communicate
    --Life In The Herd
    --African Elephants
    --Asian Elephants
    --Fun Elephant Facts
    Giraffes
    --Let’s Learn About Giraffes (Features)
    --Giraffes and Their Home (Habitat)
    --What do Giraffes Eat?
    --Are You Thirsty? How Giraffes Drink?
    --How Giraffes Sleep?
    --Giraffes and Their Babies
    --How Giraffes Communicate?
    --We Look the Same, But We are Not (Sub-species)
    --Please Take Care of Me
    --Come visit giraffes in the zoo
    --Interesting Facts about Giraffes
    Komodo Dragons
    --What is a Komodo Dragon?
    --What do Komodo Dragons Look Like?
    --Where Do Komodo Dragons Live?
    --The Komodo Dragon Home
    --The Komodo Dragons Senses
    --What do Komodo Dragons Eat?
    --What Eats The Komodo Dragon?
    --The Komodo Dagon Family
    --Komodo Dragons in Captivity
    --Why Are Komodo Dragons Vulnerable?
    --When Komodo Dragons Attack
    Meerkats
    --What do Meerkats Look Like?
    --Where Do Meerkats Live
    --The Meerkat Home
    --What Do Meerkats Eat?
    --What Animals Eat Meerkats?
    --The Meerkat Mob
    --The Meerkat Family
    --Meerkats Life Cycle
    --How do meerkats speak to each other?
    --A Day in the Life of a Meerkat
    --Meerkat relatives
    --Meerkats in Captivity
    --Did you know?
    Rhinos
    --About Rhinoceroses
    --Characteristics
    --Behavior and Vocalization
    --Threats to Rhinoceros
    --White Rhinoceros
    --Black Rhinoceros
    --Indian Rhinoceros
    --Javan Rhinoceros
    --Sumatran Rhinoceros
    --Interesting facts about the Rhinoceros
    --Rhinoceros in different cultures
    Kangaroos
    --What is a kangaroo?
    --What kinds of kangaroos are there?
    --The four kinds of big kangaroos
    --The history of kangaroos and humans
    --Wallaroos
    --Wallabies
    --Tree kangaroos
    --A little more on kangaroos
    Lizards
    --What is a lizard?
    --What kinds of lizards are there?
    --Where do lizards live?
    --The history of lizards and humans
    --What is a gecko?
    --What is an iguana?
    --What is a horny toad?
    --A little more on lizards
    About Snakes
    --Venomous Snakes
    --Most Dangerous Snakes
    --Dangerous Snakes
    --Rattlesnakes
    --Molting
    --Garter Snakes
    --How Can I Help Snakes?
    --Fun Facts about Snakes
    Conclusion
    Publisher
    Introduction

    There are all sorts of deserts all over the World, from the Savanna Desert in Africa, to the Outback in Australia, and the dry deserts of the southwest in the United States.

    Since they are so hot, dry, and large, animals must adapt in order to live in such a place. This book talks about some of the animals that live in deserts, but there is many more.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMendon Cottage Books
    Release dateFeb 21, 2016
    ISBN9781311574244
    The GIANT Book on Desert Animals For Kids

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      Book preview

      The GIANT Book on Desert Animals For Kids - Molly Davidson

      Introduction

      There are all sorts of deserts all over the World, from the Savanna Desert in Africa, to the Outback in Australia, and the dry deserts of the southwest in the United States.

      Since they are so hot, dry, and large, animals must adapt in order to live in such a place. This book talks about some of the animals that live in deserts, but there is many more.

      Camels

      Camels have long been the cars of the desert. In areas with little water, and where technology such as cars either didn't exist or aren't accessible even today, the camel was the main means of moving people and things.

      Great caravans would go through deserts, relying heavily on camels to carry everything. For the longest time, camels have been associated even with the Magi, the three kings who are said to have visited Jesus as a baby. The camel is also in the charming tale by Rudyard Kipling, where the story of how the camel got its hump is playfully explained.

      Without camels, and their ability to survive in arid environments, many places would have been left without transportation (using things to move people and items).

      With their great hump or humps, and their tendency to spit, a camel probably strikes most people as a strange looking creature. But the camel is just one more example of an animal adapted to a less than easy environment.

      What is a camel?

      A camel is a member of the genus Camelus. There are only two living members of this genus: the bactrian camel, which has two humps, and the dromedary camel, which has one.

      Two bactrian camels

      Camels are called 'even-toed ungulates,' which means that the weight on their toes is spread equally between the fourth and third toes, instead of just on the third toe. This is a wider family that covers most of the earth; however, true camels are their own distinct genus, and aren't very closely related to antelopes or deer.

      Some animals that are also even-toed ungulates include deer, pigs, giraffes, sheep, and goats, but not horses.

      All camels have humps. These are fatty deposits (bunches of fat) that contain the things that a camel needs to survive. These developed as a result of living in a desert environment, meaning a land with very little water. Unlike it was believed in older times, camels do not carry water in their humps. Instead, it's a bunch of fat that gets used up when the camel doesn't have food and water.

      What really makes a camel able to survive having no water, however, is the shape of its blood cells. Human blood cells have a circular shape with a dent in the middle; this means that it is harder for human blood to flow if they are severely dehydrated (lacking water).

      A camel, however, has oval blood cells, which are able to keep flowing in the extreme conditions of the desert. This also means that, unlike humans, they can drink many gallons of water at once. A human would rupture their blood cells if they drank too much, though generally a human would be too uncomfortable to continue if they got even halfway to having too much water. A camel will not have problems with blood cells breaking up.

      Camels also don't sweat, for the most part.

      A typical camel can live up to 50 years.

      Male camels and female camels can look a lot alike, but a male camel has an body part in its throat called a dulla. The dull looks sort of like a pink tongue, and the male camel makes it bigger to show dominance and impress mates.

      Camels have a third eyelid, thick eyelashes and fur, to take care of the problem of sand getting in their eyes. This third eyelid can be used to push out any sand that gets past their thick lashes.

      What kinds of camels are there?

      The term 'camel' refers to far fewer kinds than there are animals such as horses or deer. While many animals have been bred to make different breeds for different uses, the camel is not one of them.

      A dromedary camel

      There are two types of true camels. First is the dromedary, which has one hump and lives in Africa and the Middle East. The dromedary camel has long been very important in that region, because at some points in history, the level of wealth a man had was measured by how many animals he had, and camels were considered particularly valuable because of their ability to survive in a desert environment.

      The second is the bactrian, which has two humps and lives in Central Asia. This is an area where there are a lot of nomads, and have been throughout history not the best place for growing crops. The difference here is that the bactrian is more built for cold, since the steppes and places they live can get very cold. This area is still called a desert, because very little rain falls. Not all deserts are hot.

      There are also other animals that have been referred to as camels, as well camels that are now extinct, but these are the main two.

      Where do camels live?

      Camels live in Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and of course, in zoos all over the world.

      A group of camels in Ethiopia

      Because they are well equipped for deserts, which is where they tend to live.

      Camels are able to live in climates both hot and chilly, due to their hair. The bactrian camel is better equipped to deal with cold than the dromedary, due to having more fur.

      It used to be, in times that the Earth was warmer, that camels would live in a bigger variety of places. However, this was many, many years ago.

      The camel's ancestors started in North America, but over time migrated over to Asia and then to Africa, long before humans had learned to domesticate them. Then, the bactrian stayed in Asia, and the dromedary in Africa and the Middle East.

      The history of camels and humans

      Camels have been serving humans for a long time. In fact, most camels living today are domesticated (except for a few bactrians that live in the wild in the Gobi desert in Mongolia).

      A caravan of camels

      Camels may have been originally domesticated up to 5,000 or 4,500 years ago. This was probably done in Africa (more specifically, what is now Somalia) and in Iran.

      Tamed camels are mentioned in the Bible in the Old Testament or the Torah. However, some say this means that camels were present in Israel and Mesopotamia, an ancient land that was near Israel. Some say that domesticated camels were only present in Mesopotamia, and not Israel. Some even claim that the mention of the camel in the Bible was an anachronism (something from one time in a work from another time).

      Camels were used originally as pack animals, but it didn't take too long for them to be used for warfare.

      Saddles were made for both dromedary and bactrian camels, though at different times. Camel cavalries were used in places like the Arabian peninsula, Africa, and in India. Up til recently, a camel cavalry was still in place in India.

      In the 19th century, the United States of America started a camel corps. It lasted until late into the 19th century, but then proved not to be the best use of government money. The camel corps was stationed in California, where people can still go see the stables where they were kept.

      In the beginning of the 20th century, France established its own camel corps, to fight the Arabs and Africans who already rode camels and were hard to defeat on foot. They kept the camel corps all the way until 1962.

      And France and America weren't the only ones, either. The British made two camel corps: one for World War I, when they fought in places like Sinai, and again in World War II, where the camels were used to transport supplies. There were also Indian camel corps, which served under the British flag.

      Romanians also took advantage of camels, fighting in the Caucasian region during World War II on bactrian camels.

      The camel has been and is still used by humans in many different ways other than just fighting.

      Camel milk is very nutritious, and vital to some nomads (people who don't live in one place). In fact, it's often considered a full meal by nomads; a human can live on camel milk for quite some time without other foods.

      It can also be made into things like yogurt and butter, though camel cheese is not as easily made, and not as commonly made. Ice cream has been made out of it too.

      Camels are also used for their meat; there is a lot of meat on a camel, especially if it's a bactrian. However, it's not nearly as common as cow meat or pig meat.

      What are camelids?

      Camelids are members of the family Camelidae; this is the family that includes camels.

      Llamas, a type of camelid

      Camelids include several related animals. As you already know, it includes camels, but it also includes alpacas, llamas, guanacos, and vicuñas.

      An alpaca is a domesticated animal bred for its fur. Alpaca fur is very soft and warm. There are two types of alpacas: suri and huacaya. The alpaca looks a lot like a llama, but is smaller and isn't used to carry things. Alpacas are domesticated vicuñas.

      A vicuña lives wild in the Andes mountains; they are believed to be the ancestors of the alpaca. Once, vicuñas were endangered, because they were so heavily hunted. From 1974 to now, however, they have increased to at least fifty times their number. It is also the symbol of Peru.

      Llamas are the domesticated versions of guanacos. They have been bred to have many different varieties of hair, especially color wise. They are bigger than alpacas, and were also bred to carry things by the people who lived near them.

      Guanacos are the ancestor of llamas. They are always brown with white on their underside, and are smaller than llamas. They don't have anywhere near the variety of llamas. They live in the arid mountains, and have bigger numbers than the vicuña.

      These camelids are all related because they have several things in common: they had long, thin necks, long legs, traces of upper incisor teeth (your big front teeth), canines which are kind of like tusks, no hooves and instead soft foot pads, are herbivorous (meaning eating plants and not animals) and completely different back leg structure than, say, a deer.

      Camelids are a small family, though there used to be more camels in the world, including in North America.

      What do camels eat?

      Camels eat plants. However, the way they

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