Desert Animals
Overview
Desert Animals is an informative chapter from NCERT Class 6 English (Honeysuckle) that explains how various animals survive in the harsh, dry conditions of a desert. Deserts receive very little rainfall, making them extremely hot during the day and cold at night. The chapter describes clever ways animals like gerbils, camels, snakes, lizards, and insects adapt to save water and stay alive in such a difficult environment.
Typed Notes
What Makes a Desert Harsh
A desert is one of the most difficult places to live on Earth. It receives less than 25 centimetres of rain every year. During the day, the sun beats down and temperatures can rise extremely high. At night, the same desert becomes bitterly cold. There is very little water and very little food. Despite these tough conditions, many animals have found clever ways to survive. They have special body features and behaviours that help them deal with the heat, cold, and lack of water.
How Animals Cope — Gerbils, Snakes and Lizards
Gerbils are small, mouse-like animals that dig burrows underground. They sleep during the hot day and come out at night when it is cooler to look for seeds and plants to eat. Snakes and lizards are also desert survivors. They are cold-blooded, meaning their body temperature changes with the surroundings. They hide under rocks or in burrows during the hottest part of the day. In the early morning, they come out to warm themselves in the sun. This careful timing helps them avoid dangerous heat and save energy.
The Amazing Camel
The camel is the most famous desert animal and is often called the 'ship of the desert.' It is perfectly built for desert life. A camel can go without drinking water for many days. It stores fat in its hump, which provides energy when food and water are scarce. Its thick lips allow it to eat thorny desert plants that other animals cannot. Its long legs keep its body away from the hot ground. Wide, flat feet stop it from sinking into the sand. Camels are extremely useful to people living in desert regions.
Insects, Spiders, Scorpions and the Darkling Beetle
Many small creatures also live in deserts. Insects, spiders, and scorpions have a hard, waxy outer layer on their bodies that stops water from escaping. This is very important in a dry desert. The darkling beetle has a fascinating trick — it stands on its head during foggy mornings so that drops of moisture from the fog run down its body into its mouth. This is how it collects drinking water. Scorpions are mostly active at night and hide under stones or sand during the day to avoid the burning heat.
Key Concepts
Revision ke liye ek nazar — exam se pehle yahi padhna hai.
- 01Deserts receive less than 25 cm of rainfall per year and have extreme temperatures — very hot days and very cold nights.
- 02Animals survive in deserts by storing water, staying underground during the day, or becoming active only at night.
- 03The camel is called the 'ship of the desert' and can go without water for several days by storing fat in its hump.
- 04Gerbils are small mouse-like animals that stay in cool underground burrows during the day and come out at night to search for food.
- 05Insects, spiders, and scorpions have a thick outer covering that prevents water loss, helping them survive desert heat.
Questions & Solutions
Pehle khud try karo — phir solution kholo. Yahi tariqa topper banata hai.
Why is the camel called the 'ship of the desert'? What special features help it survive?
How do gerbils survive the extreme heat of the desert?
What is special about the darkling beetle and how does it collect water?
Why do snakes and lizards come out early in the morning rather than during the afternoon in a desert?
How do insects, spiders, and scorpions protect themselves from losing water in the desert?
Desert Animals explains how living things survive in one of Earth's harshest environments. Deserts are very dry, hot in the day, and cold at night. Animals like gerbils, snakes, and lizards hide underground during the day. Camels store fat in their humps and have special body features for desert life. Insects and scorpions have waterproof coverings, while the darkling beetle collects fog drops to drink water.
Chapter-end quiz
4 MCQsOption tap karo — turant pata chalega sahi ya galat, explanation ke saath.
Q1.How much rainfall does a desert receive in a year?
Q2.Where does a camel store fat to use as energy in the desert?
Q3.Which of the following best describes a gerbil?
Q4.What does the word 'scarce' mean as used in the chapter?
Mark karo — dashboard par progress dikhega.