Kangaroo rats can survive in the absence of an external source of water. How do they adapt themselves to such conditions?
Answers
The kangaroo rat, a rodent that’s native to the American Southwest and can, astonishingly, go its entire life without ever drinking a single drop of water.
The kangaroo rat, named as such because it has large, powerful back legs that allow it to jump up to 3 meters (9 ft) at once to avoid predators, survives primarily on seeds and beans that are high in water content, meaning every bit of water they actually need to survive is in the food they eat.
On top of that, the average lifespan for a kangaroo rat is up to 10 years in the wild, so while a camel can go months, this particular rodent can go an entire decade without water. Another reason they can survive so long without drinking water? It’s because they’re nature’s greatest urinators. Yes, a kangaroo rat’s kidneys are so efficient and its pee is so concentrated that it helps them survive without water for their entire life cycle. Behold, the powers of pee.