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  • I love living in a place where I get to enjoy rainy weather, because I love the smell of

  • rain!

  • And Squeaks likes jumping in puddles!

  • But there are some places where there's almost never any rain.

  • They're called deserts, and they're the driest places on Earth!

  • In deserts, there's so little rain that sometimes you have to wait a whole year just

  • for one rain storm!

  • So things that live in the desert, like plants and animals and even people, need special

  • ways to survive when there's so little water.

  • They also need special ways to deal with the temperature in the desert.

  • Because deserts aren't just very dry.

  • They can also be very hot or very cold.

  • Hot deserts are the kinds of deserts you might have heard about before.

  • They're incredibly hotlike as hot as the middle of the summer, all year!

  • Though they can also get pretty chilly at night.

  • Hot deserts don't have a lot of big leafy plants that can help provide shade during

  • the day, or anything to hold in heat at night like a blanket.

  • But not all deserts are hot.

  • There are actually cold deserts, too!

  • During the summer, cold deserts aren't too cold, but when it gets to winter, they're

  • freezing!

  • When you think of the cold, you might think of snow.

  • But it hardly ever snows in cold deserts, even though it's so cold.

  • There might only be a tiny bit of snow or rain all year.

  • Whether their desert is hot or cold, all of the plants and animals that live in deserts

  • have to be really well prepared to live in such an extreme place.

  • One of the main things that's hard about life in the desert is that there's so little

  • water.

  • So, Squeaks, what do you think plants or animals can do to make sure they have enough water?

  • (Squeaks squeaking)

  • That's right!

  • Some of them have special ways to hold on to whatever water they can find.

  • Like a cactus!

  • Cactuses are plants that live in deserts, and they have thick stems where they can store

  • water for a long time.

  • It's almost like they have a water bottle built into their bodies!

  • So even though it doesn't rain very much, whenever it does rain, a cactus will soak

  • up lots of water and save it up so it has water until the next time it rains.

  • But that's not the only way to get water when it hardly ever rains.

  • Do you know what kind of animal this is, Squeaks?

  • (Squeaks squeaking)

  • You're almost right!

  • It does look a lot like a bunny rabbit, but this is actually a different kind of animal,

  • called a jackrabbit.

  • Jackrabbits live in hot deserts in the United States and Mexico, and they mainly get their

  • water from the plants they eat.

  • They also do something kind of funny to make sure they get as much water as they can: they

  • eat their poop!

  • This way they can get any water that might have been left in it.

  • The other thing that's really hard about living in a hot desert is that it's sohot!

  • That's why jackrabbits have those huge ears.

  • They're big so that the jackrabbit can cool off really quickly.

  • So jackrabbits don't do much during the day, when it's the hottest.

  • They sleep instead!

  • They're mainly active early in the morning and in the evening, when the sun isn't as

  • high in the sky so it's a little cooler.

  • They're also active at night.

  • But what about animals that can choose to live wherever they want, like humans?

  • Well, people have lived in deserts for an incredibly long time, and we've come up

  • with all kinds of ways to survive there.

  • But some humans live in the desert using some of the same ways as the other animals that

  • live there.

  • People who live in deserts can choose to wear special loose clothes that allow the breeze

  • to cool them off.

  • These clothes work a lot like a jackrabbit's ears, letting people catch a breeze and cool

  • off quickly!

  • People also have to avoid the intense heat of the hot desert sun.

  • You could try bringing an air conditioner with you wherever you go, but some people

  • use another way to stay cool.

  • They only go out when the sun is low!

  • Just like many of the other animals in the desert, some people will wake up early when

  • the sun is just rising, and get things done in the morning.

  • Then during the hottest part of the day, they'll rest in the shade.

  • Once the sun is setting, the air gets cooler, and everyone can go outside again without

  • getting too hot.

  • Do you remember which other animal does that, Squeaks?

  • (Squeaks squeaking)

  • That's right!

  • Jackrabbits are active in the mornings and evenings, too!

  • And there are lots of other desert animals that live this way too, like coyotes, birds,

  • and even porcupines!

  • Animals that are most active at sunrise and sunset are called crepuscular.

  • And it turns out that being crepuscular is a pretty good lifestyle for people in the

  • desert, too!

  • There are so many ways to live, even in a place as dry as a desert.

  • No matter how they choose to do it, the people, other animals, and plants that live in deserts

  • have to be pretty tough.

  • Thanks for joining us for this episode of SciShow Kids!

  • If you want to keep learning and having fun with me and Squeaks, be sure to click the

  • red Subscribe button.

  • Thanks and we'll see you next time here at the Fort!

I love living in a place where I get to enjoy rainy weather, because I love the smell of

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