Desert animals

DESERT ANIMALS
Deserts are not easy places to call home. Broiling in the day, frigid at night, and lacking ample water, these landscapes test their inhabitants. The creatures that call deserts home have adaptations to help them survive and thrive in these harsh conditions. Many of these creatures never need to drink and have skin or scales that enable them to hoard what little water they require; some have evolved to move and be active solely at night to avoid the punishing sun. Here are 11 of the strangest animals found in deserts around the world.
FENNEC FOX

A fennec fox (Vulpes zerda). (Image credit: Tambako the Jaguar/Getty Images)(opens in new tab)
Desert animals don't get much cuter than fennec foxes (Vulpes zerda). These teeny canids are smaller than domestic cats, measuring 14 to 16 inches (35.6 to 40.6 centimeters) long, not including their tails, but they sport enormous ears that can grow to be 4 to 6 inches (10.2 to 15.2 cm) long. These ears help the foxes shed heat and listen for prey under the sand. When the foxes catch the sound of rodents, insects or other small animals they predate, they use all four paws to dig out their quarry in a shower of sand, according to the Smithsonian National Zoo.
Fennec foxes are well-adapted for life in African and Arabian deserts. Their pale fur camouflages them against the sand; it also grows on the bottoms of their feet to give them traction while running in the sand and protects their feet from the hot desert surface. When air temperatures rise, the foxes can pant up to 690 times per minute to cool down. Fennec foxes also dig elaborate burrows to escape the sun in the hottest part of the day. 
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SCREAMING HAIRY ARMADILLO

A screaming hairy armadillo having a quiet moment. (Image credit: _Philippe Clément/Arterra/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)(opens in new tab)
Perhaps less cute than fennec foxes — but no less well-adapted to their desert environment — are screaming hairy armadillos (Chaetophractus vellerosus). These armadillos really do scream; when threatened, they make a terrible cry that sounds similar to the wails of a newborn human baby. Research published in 2019(opens in new tab) suggests that these screams are designed to startle predators, or to attract other predators to the scene, perhaps distracting an attacker and enabling the armadillo to get away.
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Screaming hairy armadillos are small, weighing only 1.9 pounds (0.86 kilograms). They live in the Monte desert of Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay, preferring spots with loose, sandy soil where they can dig burrows, according to the Smithsonian National Zoo. The armadillos rarely need to drink. Their kidneys are highly efficient, and they get most of the water they need from the plants they eat. It's a waste not, want not environment in the desert, so screaming hairy armadillos are opportunistic eaters — they also consume insects and small animals such as lizards and rodents.