🏜️ Extreme survival

Desert animals have clever tricks to beat the heat and find water. Many rest in cool burrows by day and come out at night, some get all the water they need from their food, and a camel can go a long time between drinks by storing fat in its hump. Every part of their body helps them save water.

Far below the waves it is pitch black, freezing cold and squeezed by enormous pressure, yet animals still thrive there. Many make their own light to find food or mates, some have huge eyes to catch the faintest glow, and their soft bodies handle the crushing weight of all the water above.

Some animals survive the cold, foodless winter by hibernating, a deep sleep that is far more than an ordinary nap. Their heartbeat slows way down, their body cools, and they live off fat they stored in autumn. They can go weeks or months barely moving, then wake up when spring returns.

One of the toughest animals is the tardigrade, a tiny water creature smaller than a grain of sand. It can survive being frozen, boiled, dried out for years and even the emptiness of space. When conditions get too harsh, it curls up, shuts its body down almost completely, and waits for better days.