Pet Channel

The Living Desert is a great place for kids to see desert animals.

We’re tempted to lie around the JW Marriott’s pools all day (which of the five should we choose?). But we don’t give in to temptation and head out to check out some of the area’s sites. First Stop: The Living Desert, with more than 400 desert animals in their natural habitat. We especially loved the giraffes, camels and ostriches. There are also mountain lions, bobcats, and more as well as a model train garden that careens through ghost towns and frontier towns of the old west and a Wildlife Hospital where kids can watch through the glass window as vets give the animals check ups!

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What is so complex about evolution?

Evolution is an attempt to explain the various forms of life on this planet in regards to their adaptation to the environments they live in. Certain physical characteristics may be positive attributes that enable life to exist in an area where otherwise, it could not. Take polar animals, for example. They typically have very thick layers of fat or blubber that enable them to winter (if you will) the cold and extreme conditions that are present in the polar regions. Yet in desert animals, you don't find thick layers of fat, do you? There's a reason for instances like this and it's called evolution. What's so hard to understand about the action of evolving?

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I've never seen a tangerine gecko in person.

I feel in love with some tangerine geckos this week. I’m debating buying them with some of the leftovers from the bonus. Given that geckos normally live about 15 years, and that these particular geckos are desert animals, whereas the regular green ones I had were aquatic (harder, much harder to care for), I’m getting the itch to own and play with lizards again.

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Never heard of the Gila woodpecker or elf owl before.

This unique desert is home to the most recognizable cactus in the world, the majestic saguaro. Visitors of all ages are fascinated and enchanted by these desert giants, especially their many interesting and complex interrelationships with other desert life. Saguaro cacti provide their sweet fruits to hungry desert animals. They also provide homes to a variety of birds, such as the Harris’ hawk, Gila woodpecker and the tiny elf owl. Yet, the saguaro requires other desert plants for its very survival. During the first few years of a very long life, a young saguaro needs the shade and protection of a nurse plant such as the palo verde tree. With an average life span of 150 years, a mature saguaro may grow to a height of 50 feet and weigh over 10 tons.

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Read more from this blogger: Saguaro National Monument

This is a great article on pollution in the deserts of U.A.E., a country with a strong desert culture.

"This is a clear indication of pollution entering the cycle of desert animals. We don't know how much damage this is actually causing but it's certain this cannot be good for them. There has been a big decline in this species," said the source.

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I didn't know this about gerbils:

Gerbils are desert animals that produce little waste.

Read the entire article.

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