Mark Carwardine examines the lives of creatures who make their homes in extreme environments, and discovers the tricks they have evolvedÌýin order to survive.
To survive in a desert environment is perhaps the ultimate test of human endurance. There’s so much to cope with: searing temperatures during the day, freezing temperatures at night, a severe shortage of water and consequently a shortage of food. It goes without saying that water plays a crucial role in desert survival and Mark discovers the ingenious adaptations and physiology of desert dwelling animals that keep them alive in this dry, hot and barren habitat.
Whether they’re extracting or conserving water, the systems at work and methods desert creatures use are just extraordinary. For example, to generate water to live, the tiny kangaroo rat does not urinate but absorbs all its urine back into its body. It's a superb recycler of its own products, and has the most efficient kidneys of any mammal.
30 min
