Thirsty Work!

There's more life in the desert than meets the eye.

The hot deserts are some of the toughest habitats on earth. Red hot days, freezing cold nights and a harsh, desolate landscape.

There are many different types of plant and animal that can survive in the desert. Trees, shrubs and grass can all grow here. But, as the soil is dry, they have to hold on to as much water as possible. This means growing far apart so that they can collect moisture from the surrounding area. Deserts can also form if the land is mistreated. This is called desertification and occurs when people cut down all the trees and allow animals to eat all the plants. The soil is then left without food and is worn away by wind and water.

Mountain Gazelle

Found - North Africa

Habitat - Scrubland

Threats - Vulnerable due to hunting

At the Zoo - Small breeding group

Did you know? - The Gazelle has a dark stripe for camouflage. This helps them to hide from the Arabian Wolf.

Meerkat

Found - Southern Africa

Threats - Numbers stable, but habitat destruction could harm them in the future

At the Zoo - Large breeding group. The Meerkats are always digging - they'd dig up the whole enclosure if we let them!

Did you know? - The Meerkats have different jobs within their group, e.g. hunter, sentry, teacher.

Giant Tortoise

Found - The Island of Aldabra, the Seychelles, Galapagos Islands

Threats - Hunting to be used as food and for its valuable shell

At the Zoo - Our male is a Giant Seychelles Tortoise, a species thought to be extinct for the last 150 years.

Did you know? - This species can live for well over 100 years.

Bactrian Camel

Found - Mongolia, Afghanistan, Turkey, Russia, Iran and China

Threats - The wild species is endangered, as few as 500 are left, but there are plenty of the domesticated kind

At the Zoo - We have a successful breeding group here at the Zoo. A new male arrived in 2006 as did baby, Karamay, who was hand-reared following rejection by her mother. She has now been reintegrated into the main group.

Did you know? - The humps on a camel's back are fat stores that provide the body with food and water in the desert. Camels can last 10 times as long as humans without water.

How Can You Help?

* Conserve water.

Quick Facts !

* Annual rainfall - Less than 254 mm

* Temperature - Daytime 58 degrees C to -20 degrees C at night

* Total area of planet covered - 20%

* Area lost in last 5000 years - 86%

* World importance - Key to the world's weather patterns

* Threats - Desertification is a threat to 35% of the earth's surface

* Amazing fact - Sand dunes made by wind can reach up to 200 metres.