Pocket-Sized Survivor: How the Ord’s Kangaroo Rat Lives Without Water

 The Ord’s Kangaroo Rats are the only year round dwelling mammals in the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. They are vertebrates and warmblooded mammals, who are omnivores.

They eat seeds and insects. These cute rodents store away their seeds in their burrow. In just a couple of days in the sand of the burrow the seeds will be able to give water to the Ord’s Kangaroo Rat, because of the moisture they collect from the sand, like a sponge in a bucket of water.

Although it may seem that the Ord’s Kangaroo Rat may need other sources of water to survive the dense heat of the dunes this pocket-sized creature only needs the moisture the seeds pick up from the sand to survive. In other words, the Ord’s Kangaroo Rat can survive its whole life without a single drop of water.

The Ord’s Kangaroo Rat lives less than a year. Even though they seem like they would be friendly, they are aggressive with other Ord’s Kangaroo Rats, who dare to cross into their territory.

The Ord’s Kangaroo Rats also own a bushy ends to their tails. Miraculously this helps them to turn around in midair, which might be necessary when avoiding predators.

Spotting this creature on the dunes might be tricky, because of its miniature size, but if you are wanting to clap eyes on one at all you must turn up to the dunes after dark, because these animals are nocturnal, which means they sleep peacefully during the day and are joyfully active in the night.

All in all the Ord’s Kangaroo Rat, who is the only mammal who dwells all year in the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is a unique animal of God’s creation.