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Monday, April 13, 2015

The Wild, Wild Best! K is for...





K is for Kangaroo Rat!  It’s no wonder these solitary little desert cuties are sources of much delight in terms of young enchantment. Imagine a tiny hero who can leap tall buildings (Okay, not quite. But nine feet is impressive!), dig burrows large enough for reptiles three times his size to fit into, has his own built-in air conditioning system (the air he breathes out is cooler than the air he breathes in), and never, ever needs to drink water! I feel a story coming on already!

The Kangaroo Rat has excellent hearing and can even detect the silent flight of an approaching owl! It’s those extra-large back legs that enable them to jump so far, which comes in handy when fleeing from predators. As the name Kangaroo might suggest, the Kangaroo Rat does have pouches, though not for carrying babies; theirs are located on their cheeks so they can store more seeds to take home to their burrows.

There are twenty species of Kangaroo rats. The region where they live is dependent upon the species. The desert Kangaroo rat (like the one pictured) is found in Southwestern United States and parts of Mexico. This particular species is exceptionally well adapted to the extreme temperatures of the desert.

Is everyone enjoying the Blogging A to Z April 2015 Challenge? Stop on in and say hello, I’d love to hear what you’re blogging about!



4 comments:

  1. That is the cutest rat I've ever seen! I want to hold it. :)

    Nine feet is very impressive for that little thing.

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    1. I think so too! And I'm not a real fan of rodents :-)

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  2. I've never heard of a kangaroo rat! And those feet. Gah!

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    1. Ha! With his jumping ability he'd probably be good at basketball :-)

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