Book 16, Question 117
How Do Desert Animals Sense That Rain Is Coming?
Desert animals sense that rain is coming by noticing clues that people often miss! Changes in the air, smells, and sounds can all signal a storm. Some animals even change what they do hours before it rains.
More fun facts
- Couch's spadefoot is a desert toad that spends long dry stretches buried underground.
- It waits in deep burrows, 20 to 90 centimeters below the surface.
- The toads come out when they sense the low rumbling sound of rain falling on the desert soil, not the water itself.
- They climb out on the very first night after the first heavy summer rain.
- Females lay eggs in short lived rain pools, and the eggs can hatch in as little as one day.
- The tadpoles can turn into little toads within 8 to 10 days if they find enough food.
- One good meal may give a spadefoot enough energy to last at least a year.
- Noise from off road vehicles can fool the toads into coming out, because it sounds like falling rain.
Sources: nrm.dfg.ca.gov
Questions kids ask
How much rain falls where Couch's spadefoot lives in California?
Its home there gets only about 6.5 centimeters of rain a year, on average.