Every night after sundown a little visitor came around our Death Valley camp. Not pesky like a ground squirrel or chipmunk looking for handouts. It didn’t hang around long and try as I might, I could not get a photo of this adorable and amazing creature the Kangaroo Rat. But Jeremy did.
.jpg "Kangaroo Rat under car DEVA NP CA")
Trying to hide
These chubby mouse-sized rodents have long back legs and toes enabling them to hop like a kangaroo. Instead of a pouch on their bellies for babies, the Kangaroo rat has very large cheek pouches that it fills with food then empties by turning them inside out.
.jpg "Kangaroo Rat DEVA NP CA")
Strike a pose
Kangaroo rats can live their entire lives without drinking a drop of liquid. All of the water they need to survive in this arid land can be metabolized within their bodies from the dry seeds they eat. They avoid the intense heat of the day in underground burrows and may even plug the entrance with dirt to keep out heat and intruders. Kangaroo rats reclaim water vapor from their own breath by special membranes in their nasal passages.
Trying to hideThese chubby mouse-sized rodents have long back legs and toes enabling them to hop like a kangaroo. Instead of a pouch on their bellies for babies, the Kangaroo rat has very large cheek pouches that it fills with food then empties by turning them inside out.
Strike a poseKangaroo rats can live their entire lives without drinking a drop of liquid. All of the water they need to survive in this arid land can be metabolized within their bodies from the dry seeds they eat. They avoid the intense heat of the day in underground burrows and may even plug the entrance with dirt to keep out heat and intruders. Kangaroo rats reclaim water vapor from their own breath by special membranes in their nasal passages.