How many times have we heard the saying “Water is life.” We have also heard that life cannot exist without water. Well there is an animal that does not drink water. It is called the Jerboa.
Jerboa is the name for the small, jumping rodents of the family Dipodidae, found in and parts of Asia. North Aftrica, and South Eastern Europe. Jerboa have extremely long hind feet and short forelegs; they always walk upright or hop like kangaroos. A jerboa can hop faster than a person can run, and a single leap may carry it to almost 2 meters. Jerboa have long silky fur, buff colored fur above and pale below; members of most species have a black face mask and tail tuft.
They have large eyes and long ears. The combined head and body length is between 5 and 20 centimeters, depending on the species. The tail is usually somewhat longer than the body. When the animal sits the tail is used as a prop.
Solitary, noctumal animals, with a low tolerance for heat, jerboas spend the day in individual burrows with plugged entrances. In the northern parts of their range they hibernate; some jerboas of the true deserts aestivate. They feed on plant matter, especially seeds, and insects.
They do not drink, but survive on water obtained from food or produced by their own metabolism. – Bato Balani
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