28 Kalahari Desert Animals

Kalahari Desert Animals by Liz Dilley Table of Contents Chapter 1 Where Is the Kalahari Desert? page 2 Chapter 2 Kalahari Mammals page 4 Chapter 3 Kalahari Insects page 8 Chapter 4 Kalahari Reptiles page 10 Chapter 5 Kalahari Birds page 12 Glossary/ Index page 15 Comprehension Check page 16

Kalahari沙漠动物作者:Liz Dilley目录第1章Kalahari沙漠在哪里? 第2页第2章喀拉哈里哺乳动物第4页第3章喀拉哈里昆虫第8页第4章喀拉哈里爬行动物第10页第5章喀拉哈里鸟类第12页词汇表/索引第15页理解检查第16页

Chapter 1 Where Is the Kalahari Desert? The Kalahari (ka-luh-HAH-ri) Desert is in Africa. It is a hot and very dry area. The desert lies between the Orange and Zambezi rivers. It spreads over parts of the African countries Botswana, Nambia, and South Africa. yellow Kalahari Desert blue rivers AFRICA Nambia Botswana Zambezi River Orange River South Africa INDIAN OCEAN Madagascar Thornbushes (above) and succulents (right) grow in the Kalahari Desert. The Kalahari Desert is very hot during the day. At night there are no clouds to keep the heat close to the ground. It gets very cold. Sometimes there are thunderstorms in summer. The rains fill shallow lakes and water holes. When rain comes, grass grows for a short time. Red sand covers parts of the desert. Thornbushes, trees, and small plants called succulents (SUK-yew-lints) grow in the desert. Succulents store water in their leaves and roots, just like cacti.

喀拉哈里沙漠在哪里? 喀拉哈里沙漠位于非洲。 这是一个炎热干燥的地区。 沙漠位于奥兰治河和赞比西河之间。 它分布在非洲国家博茨瓦纳、纳米比亚和南非的部分地区。 黄色喀拉哈里沙漠蓝色河流非洲纳米比亚博茨瓦纳赞比西河橙色河南非印度洋马达加斯加刺灌木(上图)和多肉植物(右)生长在喀拉哈里沙漠。 喀拉哈里沙漠白天非常热。 晚上没有云来保持热量接近地面。 天气变得很冷。夏天有时会有雷暴。 雨水填满了浅湖和水坑。 当下雨时，草生长很短一段时间。 红色的沙子覆盖了沙漠的部分地区。 荆棘、树木和称为多肉植物的小植物(SUK-yew-lints)生长在沙漠中。 多肉植物把水分储存在叶子和根部，就像仙人掌一样。

Chapter 2 Kalahari Mammals Many mammals live in the Kalahari Desert. They have very little water to drink. Some mammals eat only thornbushes and dry grass. Others eat small rodents, bugs, and lizards. Meerkats live in the Kalahari's grasslands. They are good hunters that attack without warning. The meerkats eat lizards, small rodents, and bugs. They even eat poisonous scorpions. They bite off the scorpion's stinger, and then eat the rest. Meerkats come out of their burrow each day to get sun. Male gemsboks use their horns to defend against lions and to greet friends. Gemsboks are huge antelopes. They can live for days without water Gemsboks cool themselves down by taking short quick breaths. This helps them keep their heads cool, even when their bodies feel hot. Gemsboks live in parts of the desert that have grass and trees. They eat grass and will dig for plant roots to eat.

许多哺乳动物生活在喀拉哈里沙漠。 他们只有很少的水喝。 有些哺乳动物只吃荆棘和干草。 还有一些吃小啮齿动物、虫子和蜥蜴。 猫鼬生活在喀拉哈里的草原上。 它们是很好的猎手，会毫无征兆地攻击。 猫鼬吃蜥蜴、小啮齿动物和虫子。 他们甚至吃有毒的蝎子。 它们咬掉蝎子的毒刺，然后吃掉剩下的。 猫鼬每天都会从洞穴里出来晒太阳。 雄性大羚羊用它们的角来抵御狮子和问候朋友。 大羚羊是一种巨大的羚羊。 它们可以在没有水的情况下存活数天，大羚羊通过短暂的快速呼吸来冷却自己。 这有助于他们保持头部凉爽，即使他们的身体感到热。 大羚羊生活在沙漠中有草和树的地方。 它们吃草，也会挖植物的根来吃。

Many desert animals move slowly. That makes hunting easy for lions and cheetahs. Lions live in groups of twelve or fewer lions. These groups are called prides. Sometimes they have to travel to distant parts of the desert to hunt. They also spend time resting and sleeping. Cheetahs can build speed quickly and run very fast. They hunt and kill smaller animals. They often look for weak animals, which are easier to catch. Lions like to rest when they are not hunting. Bat-eared foxes' large ears help them hunt underground, Sometimes lions and cheetahs leave food behind. Other desert animals eat this food. These animals are called scavengers. Some large birds are scavengers. Other mammals have smart ways to find food. Bat-eared foxes use their huge ears. They put an ear to the ground. Then they listen for mice and insects, such as termites, moving underground. If they hear something, these foxes quickly dig to find their prey.

许多沙漠动物行动缓慢。 这使得狮子和猎豹很容易捕猎。 狮子生活在12只或更少的狮子的群体中。 这些群体被称为pride。 有时他们不得不到沙漠的遥远地方去打猎。 他们也花时间休息和睡觉。 猎豹速度很快，跑得也很快。 他们猎杀较小的动物。 他们经常寻找身体虚弱的动物，这样更容易捕捉。 狮子不捕猎时喜欢休息。 蝙蝠耳狐的大耳朵帮助它们在地下捕猎，有时狮子和猎豹会留下食物。 其他沙漠动物也吃这种食物。 这些动物被称为食腐动物。 一些大型鸟类是食腐动物。 其他哺乳动物有聪明的方法来寻找食物。 蝙蝠耳朵的狐狸用它们巨大的耳朵。 他们密切关注事态发展。 然后他们听老鼠和昆虫，如白蚁，在地下移动。 如果它们听到什么，这些狐狸就会迅速挖洞寻找猎物。

Chapter 3 Kalahari Insects The Kalahari Desert is home to many insects. Tiny termites live in huge groups called colonies. They build nests called mounds. The mounds are made from clay, sand, termite saliva, and salt. Amazing Eggs Only the queen termite can lay eggs. For many years a queen termite lays up to 30 eggs a minute. That's 13 million eggs a year! Termite mounds can be 20 feet (6 meters) high. That's about five times as tall as you are. Dung beetles are common in the Kalahari Desert. They are interesting to watch. Male beetles roll fresh animal dung into balls. Then they roll the balls along the ground. The beetles eat the dung, and females lay their eggs in it. Dung beetles are strong fliers. They can travel over lengthy areas in search of smelly dung. They must unfold their wings to fly. Their wings are normally hidden by hard covers that act like a shell. This dung beetle is rolling a ball of elephant dung.

喀拉哈里沙漠是许多昆虫的家园。 微小的白蚁生活在巨大的群体中，称为蜂群。 它们筑巢叫做土丘。 这些土丘是由粘土、沙子、白蚁唾液和盐制成的。 只有蚁后才会产卵。 多年来，一只蚁后每分钟产30个蛋。 那就是一年1300万个鸡蛋!白蚁堆可达20英尺(6米)高。 那是你身高的五倍。 屎壳郎在喀拉哈里沙漠很常见。 它们看起来很有趣。 雄甲虫把新鲜的动物粪便滚成球。 然后他们沿着地面滚动球。 蜣螂吃粪，雌蜣螂在粪里产卵。 屎壳郎是飞行健将。 它们可以长途跋涉寻找有臭味的粪便。 他们必须展开翅膀才能飞翔。 它们的翅膀通常隐藏在像壳一样的坚硬覆盖物中。 这只屎壳郎正在滚一团象粪。