Animal adaptations

In your book, the class compares two camels: one from the hot desert of Rajasthan and one from the cold desert of Ladakh.

The hot-desert camel. Alex's grandmother explains that its long legs and wide feet help it walk on the sandy desert without sinking into the sand. It has one hump. Many people also point out its long eyelashes, which keep sand out of its eyes in a sandstorm.

The cold-desert camel is shorter, with shorter legs, which help it walk easily over mountains. It has two humps. It grows long hair from its head to its neck, which helps it survive the cold winters of Ladakh.

What is in a hump? Food is hard to find in a desert. A camel's hump stores fat, which the camel can use as food when food is scarce. In late winter there is very little to eat in the cold desert, so the Ladakh camel uses up the stored fat and its two humps shrink.

Saving water. Kashi, who is from Rajasthan, adds that camels pass only a little urine, their dung is dry, and they do not sweat. They lose very little water, so a camel can live many days without drinking.

Fish are adapted to water. Sagar saw colourful fish in the sea near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. His father explained that a fish's streamlined body (smooth and pointed, like a boat) helps it swim, and its fins help it move. All these special features are adaptations.