Animals of deserts and semi-deserts: which ones are found on the territory of Russia

Our planet is rich in climatic conditions. There are also large snow-covered spaces, and swampy places, and forests, and steppes, and deserts. And in all climatic zones animals live and plants grow. Even in such hot and waterless expanses as desert and semi-desert there is life. It is about the animals of these regions that will be discussed in this article.

What is desert and semi-desert?

Before talking about what animals of deserts and semi-deserts live on our planet, it is worth talking about their habitat. What is a desert? What are its characteristics?

The desert is a place with a harsh climate and virtually non-existent flora and fauna. There are several varieties, these are:

• sandy;
• rocky;
• clay;
• solonchak.

Animals of deserts and semi-deserts

Each of them is characterized by its own characteristics, depending on which the animals living in them also differ. But, most importantly, in all varieties of deserts – this is a small amount of precipitation. As a rule, they do not reach 200 mm per year. Moreover, most of them (up to 50%) fall in the spring. But, it is not uncommon when for several years there is no rain at all.

If we talk about temperature parameters, then they can be different. Everything will depend on the location of the deserts. If the largest “wasteland” – the Sahara, is famous for its high temperatures (of course, only in the daytime), then others, for example, the famous Gobi, are famous for winter frosts (up to -50 degrees). Generally speaking, during the summer in any desert it is very hot during the daytimeand temperatures can drop below freezing at night. In winter, it is much colder, but not everywhere. Everything will depend on the remoteness of the deserts from the ocean coast. The farther, the colder.

Russia does not have real deserts. But there are semi-deserts in the country. Here the climate is a little milder, and the flora and fauna are richer. The temperature difference here is not so significant. And precipitation falls three to four times more than in the desert.

Features of the animal world of deserts and semi-deserts

The animal world that inhabits the desert and semi-desert has some features. They are related to the specifics of the environment.

1. Large herbivores run fast. The desert is characterized by a meager flora, in order to have enough food you need to run a lot. Besides there’s nowhere to hide, which means that salvation from predators is only in fast running. The same applies to birds. They are capable of flying long distances in a day.
2. Smaller animals, in order to escape from predators, have learned to jump. Jerboas and hares, escaping from foxes, make jumps and confuse their tracks.
3. Since many small mammals and lizards live in burrows, they have acquired various digging devices (combs and brushes on their paws).
4. Due to the lack of large vegetation, many birds make their nests in abandoned burrows.

All these features create a special fauna of deserts and semi-deserts. But, in addition to specific inhabitants, representatives of adjacent climatic zones also live here. For example, in semi-deserts you can often meet a steppe wolf or a fox.

Fauna of Russian deserts and semi-deserts

Russia, as mentioned earlier, does not have real deserts. There are several places covered with sand (Tsimlyansk and Archedinsko-Don sands), but their territory is quite small, so the natural world there is the same as in the neighboring steppe zone.

But Russia has some semi-desert areas located in the southern regions (Orenburg, Rostov, Volgograd regions). Here is a real semi-desert and the animal world corresponds to it.

Representatives live here:

• mammals: sandstone hare, eared hedgehog, ground squirrel, jerboa, corsac;
• birds: sparrow, bullfinch, bustard, partridge, warbler, lark, jay;
• reptiles: monitor lizards, various lizards, numerous snakes, steppe turtles;
• insects: spiders, beetles, locusts (a real disaster for agriculture).

Most animals, especially in summer, are nocturnal. This is due to high temperatures. Whole they spend the day in burrows and only at twilight they go out to prey on food.

But there are those who stay awake during the day. So, for example, ground squirrels can be called a real guardian of the semi-desert. These are typical inhabitants of such regions for Russia. They live in large groups, several of which are constantly on guard.

Predators are represented by corsairs. This is a small (body length up to 60 cm) animal from the canine family. The corsair lives in burrows, but rarely digs them himself. Mostly uses abandoned dwellings. Except the corsair you can often see wolves and foxes, but they come here from the steppes adjacent to the semi-desert.

The camel is considered the largest representative of the inhabitants of semi-deserts. In our country, he lives in the Kalmyk and Orenburg steppes. This large animal can go without water for many weeks.

But still, due to lack of food, most representatives of the fauna of such regions are small in size. All sorts of representatives of rodents and lizards, small birds and small predators – these are the main inhabitants of such arid regions.