What Animals Live in the Desert?

There are different types of deserts located throughout the world.  Some range from being hot and dry to being cold.  Because of these variations, the kinds of animals and plants found in these deserts also vary from place to place.  The deserts do share the main characteristic of receiving little precipitation.  The animals that live in these deserts have found ways of adapting to these environmental conditions.

Sahara Desert

The Sahara Desert is located in North Africa and is considered the world’s largest hot desert.  Temperatures can get as high as 130 degrees.  Desert animals that thrive in this environment are the Dromedary camels, the Addax, Fennec foxes, Saharan horned vipers and Dama gazelles.

Sonoran Desert

The Sonoran Desert is located in various parts of California, Arizona and New Mexico.  Being the hottest desert in the United States, it supports animals such as the Western diamondback rattlesnake, the Sonoran desert toad, desert bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelope and the cactus wren.

Gobi Desert

The Gobi Desert is a cold desert located in Asia, covering parts of China and Mongolia.  Winter temperatures can reach as far as -40 degrees.  Animals that thrive in this habitat include the marbled polecats, black-tailed gazelles, Bactrian camels, snow leopards and brown bears.

Great Basin Desert

The Great Basin Desert, the largest of the U.S. deserts, is located in parts of Nevada, Utah, Idaho and Oregon.  It is considered a cold desert, getting 7 to 12 inches of precipitation a year with snow being the winter precipitation.  Animals found in this environment are the bighorn sheep, coyote, black-tailed jackrabbit, kangaroo rat and various mice species.