Desert Plants &Animals

in the Bible
and their Adaptations

 By Kathy Applebee
 Aligned with VA SOL’s 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 4.5
 Camels
 Camels are nicknamed “ships of the
desert” because they travel well in
hot, dry conditions. Arabian or
dromedary camels have one hump.
Bactrian or two humped camels live
in Asia.
 Camels
 Camels have noses that can close to
keep the sand out. Their eyes have
bushy brows and 2 sets of eyelashes
to protect them.
 Camels
God gave camels wide,
padded feet and thick
leathery pads on their
chest and knees for
protection.
Their tough mouth can
chew thorny desert
plants.
Camels can grow more
than 7 feet (2 m) tall and
weigh almost a ton (1600
 Camels

The camel's hump does not

contain extra water. God
designed the camel to carry
extra fat in its hump. Because
of the stored fat, a camel can
go without food and water for 3
 Rabbits
 Rabbits adapt to desert life with
camouflage and burrowing.
Camouflage means being the same
color as where you live so predators
that would eat you, can’t see you as
easily.
 Rabbits
 God gave rabbits strong legs to jump
quickly and to burrow holes. The
holes provide a cool place to live and
hide from predators.
As the Children of Israel traveled in the
desert God gave them rules about what
animals they could and could not eat.

 Lev. 11: 1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 2 "Say to the
Israelites: 'Of all the animals that live on land, these are the
ones you may eat: 3 You may eat any animal that has a split
hoof completely divided and that chews the cud.
  4 " 'There are some that only chew the cud or only have a
split hoof, but you must not eat them. The camel, though it
chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it is ceremonially
unclean for you.,,. 6 The rabbit, though it chews the cud,
does not have a split hoof; it is unclean for you.
 Desert Birds
 Birds
in the desert often are nocturnal;
they hunt at night. Some birds, like
the owl here, hunt during the day.

 Godgave owls super sight and

hearing, plus their feathers are
shaped so they fly without a sound.
 Desert Birds
 Some owls, like this one, can burrow into
the ground to hide from predators and
keep cool.
 Owls eat insects, snakes,
rats,
 other rodents and other
 birds. They have sharp
 talons or claws to grab
their
 prey and sharp beaks.
 Desert Birds
 Vulturesalso have sharp talons and
beaks. They are scavengers. God
created them to help clean up dead
animals.
 Desert Birds
 Lev. 11:13 " 'These are the birds you
are to detest and not eat because
they are detestable: the eagle, the
vulture, the black vulture, 14 the red
kite, any kind of black kite, 15 any
kind of raven, 16 the horned owl, the
screech owl, the gull, any kind of
hawk, 17 the little owl, the cormorant,
the great owl, 18 the white owl, the
desert owl, the osprey.
 Desert Reptiles
Some lizards can break
off their tails to escape .
The predator is
distracted and eats the
tail. The lizard
eventually grows it
back.  Desert lizards called
chameleons use camouflage
to protect themselves from
predators and to hide from
their prey.
 Camouflage means they can
change their skin color to
match the surrounding area.
 Desert Reptiles
Usually lizards eat
insects but larger
ones can eat birds or
their eggs. A few are
herbivores, which
means they eat
plants.
Lizards are cold-
blooded. Their
temperature
changes with the
Desert Reptiles
Like other reptiles,
snakes are cold-
blooded. They have
a long, narrow
bodies and scaly
skin that protects
them. God gave
rattlesnakes poison
to help protect them
from predators and
to help them catch
their food.
 Desert Reptiles
 May cold-blooded animals digest their
food using the sun’s energy. When
you see a reptile sunning themselves
they are probably digesting their
dinner.
 Desert Reptiles
God did not make reptiles food for the
Children of Israel.
Lev. 11: 29 " 'Of the animals that move
about on the ground, these are unclean for
you: the weasel, the rat, any kind of great
lizard, 30 the gecko, the monitor lizard, the
wall lizard, the skink and the chameleon.
Desert Plants
Deserts cover about 20
percent of the land on
earth. To be considered a
desert, an area must get
less than 10 inches of
precipitation a year.

The desert is a harsh

environment with extreme
temperatures; without
clouds the heat of the day
quickly disappears and
deserts can be freezing at
night.
Because of these dry
 Desert Plants
Cacti is the plural of
cactus.

God gave the cactus

special roots to help it
survive in the desert.

Prickly Pear cacti have long

roots, which absorb water
from deep down in the soil.

Some, like ball cacti, have

shorter roots that absorb
 Desert Plants
 Cacti can survive during
drought s. A drought is a long
period of time with no water
Sauaro cactus can store water
for long periods of time.
 God gave cacti thick skin with
a waxy coating. This keeps
water inside the cactus from
evaporating. The cacti have
thick spongy or hollow stems
to store water.
 Desert Plants
 Most cacti have spines or scales
instead of leaves. Leaves would lose
water through evaporation
 The spines protect the cactus from
animals that would like to eat the
cactus to obtain food and/or water.
 Desert Plants

 Cacti produce flowers for a short time in

the spring. Later they grow seed bearing
fruit. Bats spread cacti pollen as well as
some of the insects that live in the desert.
 Desert Review
 How much precipitation do deserts get each
year?

 How did God adapt the camel to desert life?

 How did God adapt plants to live in the desert?

 Think of three ways God made desert birds or

reptiles able to survive in the desert.

 (Look back to check your answers)

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