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Kangaroo Rat

Despite it's name and mouse-like apperance, the Kangaroo Rat is actually not a rat or a mouse, The Kangaroo Rat is a member of the heteromyidae family, with its closest relative being the pocket gopher. 

Kangaroo Rats have long tails and larger hind feet with only four toes.  Their eyes are very large, while their ears are incredibly small.  Kangaroo Rats are very small animals, weighing up to 4.5 ounces, which is about the weight as a granola bar.  Their fur is a yellowish-brown with a white belly, while the tail has a noticable white tip.

The Kangaroo Rat tends to live in the desert flatlands, cresote flats, and the sandy soils of the desert washes.  The rats will dig burrows into the soil to better survive the sometimes harsh desert environment. 

Kangaroo Rats are mostly seed eaters, eating mostly mesquite beans and grass seeds.  Occasionaly the Kangaroo Rat can be seen eating small inscets.  Kangaroo Rats will forage and collect seeds at night, storing seeds and beans in their cheek pouches.  Extra seeds are stored in their borrows, where the seeds can absorb up to 30 percent more mositure.

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Kangaroo Rats habe powerful hind legs and a long tail for balance.

Kangaroo Rats are masters of desert survival. Their bodies have developed amazing adaptations that reduce the amount of water needed and the amount of water that is lost. 

Even though their diet consists of mostly dry seeds, the Kangaroo Rat has almost no need for water. Instead, they survive almost entirely on the water metabolized from the seeds that are eaten. Kangaroo Rats can extract a half gram of water out of every gram of seeds consumed. Their kidneys reduce and concentrate their urine to almost a crystal-like consistency, greatly reducing the amount of water that is lost. Kangaroo Rats don't even need water to bathe- instead they will take a dust bath by rolling around in the sand!

Kangaroo Rats have adaptations which allow them to detect and escape predators easily. They have massive hind legs, which allow the Kangaroo Rat to jump nine feet at a time, allowing the rat to escape fast and sneaky animals. The Kangaroo Rat has an extremely good sense of hearing which allows the rat to detect the approach of the quiet owls and snakes.