🏜️ Desert animal reports, grades 5–6
9 sheets, one animal each, so every child in a group gets a different one. Pick another set or one animal.
My report: the red kangaroo
Osphranter rufus · Grades 5–6
| Length | not checked yet: look it up! |
|---|---|
| Height | 5.9 ft (1.8 m) |
| Weight | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | not checked yet: look it up! |
Read about it
Red kangaroos are the largest marsupials, mammals whose babies finish growing in a pouch. Hopping is a very efficient way to travel: their tendons stretch and spring back like a pogo stick. In the hot outback they rest in the shade by day and feed in the cool of evening and night, and they can go a long time without drinking.
Habitat and range: where on Earth, and what the place is like:
Diet: what it eats, and what might eat it:
Adaptations: two ways its body or habits help it survive:
Is it in danger? Why or why not?:
Compare it with another animal you know:
Bibliography: write each source below as site, page title, date checked:
Where my facts came from
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, How to Care for Wallabies, nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/news/how-care-wallabies, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the meerkat
Suricata suricatta · Grades 5–6
| Length | 17 to 24 in (43 to 60 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 1.6 lb (725 g) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 10 years |
Read about it
Meerkats are a kind of mongoose, and they live in the dry lands of southern Africa. In a mob the members share the work: some adults babysit the pups at the burrow while others look for food, and the lookouts take turns so everyone gets a chance to eat. The sentry uses different calls for danger in the sky and danger on the ground, and the others know just how to react. Meerkats eat mostly insects, plus spiders, small lizards and even scorpions.
Habitat and range: where on Earth, and what the place is like:
Diet: what it eats, and what might eat it:
Adaptations: two ways its body or habits help it survive:
Is it in danger? Why or why not?:
Compare it with another animal you know:
Bibliography: write each source below as site, page title, date checked:
Where my facts came from
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, Meerkat, nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/meerkat, checked 2026-10-30
- Wikidata, from Suricata suricatta, wikidata.org/wiki/Q134015#P2067, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the fennec fox
Vulpes zerda · Grades 5–6
| Length | 21 to 28 in (54 to 71 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 2 to 3.1 lb (900 g to 1.4 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 11 years |
Read about it
Fennec foxes are the smallest members of the dog family. In the Sahara the days are scorching and the nights are cold, so a fennec's pale, thick fur reflects the sun by day and keeps it warm after dark. It gets most of the water it needs from its food, so it can go a long time without a drink. Fennecs live in family groups and dig burrows in the sand with several entrances.
Habitat and range: where on Earth, and what the place is like:
Diet: what it eats, and what might eat it:
Adaptations: two ways its body or habits help it survive:
Is it in danger? Why or why not?:
Compare it with another animal you know:
Bibliography: write each source below as site, page title, date checked:
Where my facts came from
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, Fennec fox, nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/fennec-fox, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the pronghorn
Antilocapra americana · Grades 5–6
| Length | 3.7 to 4.6 ft (1.1 to 1.4 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 35 in to 3.3 ft (89 cm to 1 m) |
| Weight | 90 to 125 lb (41 to 57 kg) |
| Top speed | 55 mph (89 km/h) |
| How long it lives | 7 to 10 years |
Read about it
Pronghorns share the prairie with bison, and they eat sagebrush, grasses and wildflowers. Unlike deer, which drop their antlers, a pronghorn sheds only the black outer sheath of its horns each year, and a new one grows over the bony core. Pronghorns travel long distances between summer and winter ranges, and fences can block their way, so ranchers and wildlife groups build fences that pronghorns can get under.
Habitat and range: where on Earth, and what the place is like:
Diet: what it eats, and what might eat it:
Adaptations: two ways its body or habits help it survive:
Is it in danger? Why or why not?:
Compare it with another animal you know:
Bibliography: write each source below as site, page title, date checked:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Yellowstone, home.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/pronghorn.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Badlands, nps.gov/articles/000/pronghorn.htm, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the ostrich
Struthio camelus · Grades 5–6
| Length | not checked yet: look it up! |
|---|---|
| Height | 8.9 ft (2.7 m) |
| Weight | 198 to 300 lb (90 to 136 kg) |
| Top speed | 43 mph (69 km/h) |
| How long it lives | 30 to 40 years |
Read about it
Ostriches are the largest birds alive, and their eggs are the largest eggs of any bird. Each foot has only two toes, a bit like a hoof, which suits running. An ostrich swallows small stones that stay in its stomach and help grind up tough plants. It does not really bury its head in the sand; that is just an old myth.
Habitat and range: where on Earth, and what the place is like:
Diet: what it eats, and what might eat it:
Adaptations: two ways its body or habits help it survive:
Is it in danger? Why or why not?:
Compare it with another animal you know:
Bibliography: write each source below as site, page title, date checked:
Where my facts came from
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, Ostrich, nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/ostrich, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the greater roadrunner
Geococcyx californianus · Grades 5–6
| Length | 23 in (58 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Top speed | 20 mph (32 km/h) |
| How long it lives | not checked yet: look it up! |
Read about it
Roadrunners belong to the cuckoo family. They can fly short distances but spend most of their time on the ground. They get most of their water from the food they eat, and a gland near the eye lets them get rid of extra salt, which helps them live in dry places.
Habitat and range: where on Earth, and what the place is like:
Diet: what it eats, and what might eat it:
Adaptations: two ways its body or habits help it survive:
Is it in danger? Why or why not?:
Compare it with another animal you know:
Bibliography: write each source below as site, page title, date checked:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, White Sands National Park, nps.gov/whsa/learn/nature/roadrunner.htm, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the gila monster
Heloderma suspectum · Grades 5–6
| Length | 22 in (56 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 16 oz (450 g) |
| Top speed | 1.5 mph (2.4 km/h) |
| How long it lives | 20 years |
Read about it
Gila monsters are among the few venomous lizards in the world, and their venom comes from glands in the lower jaw. They are shy and slow and spend most of the year underground, so they rarely meet people; if you ever see one, leave it alone. A medicine for people with diabetes was developed from a substance in Gila monster saliva. Laws in several states protect these lizards.
Habitat and range: where on Earth, and what the place is like:
Diet: what it eats, and what might eat it:
Adaptations: two ways its body or habits help it survive:
Is it in danger? Why or why not?:
Compare it with another animal you know:
Bibliography: write each source below as site, page title, date checked:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Saguaro National Park, nps.gov/sagu/learn/nature/gila-monster.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/gila-monster, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the mojave desert tortoise
Gopherus agassizii · Grades 5–6
| Length | 7.9 to 15 in (20 to 38 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 3.9 to 5.9 in (10 to 15 cm) |
| Weight | 7.9 to 15 lb (3.6 to 6.8 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 50 to 80 years |
Read about it
In winter, desert tortoises rest deep in their burrows in a long, sleep-like state called brumation. After a rainstorm they come out to drink, and sometimes dig little basins to catch the water. Mojave desert tortoises are threatened, because roads, building and fires have changed the desert and a sickness can spread among them. People help by protecting wild land, building fences along roads so tortoises do not wander into traffic, and caring for rescued tortoises.
Habitat and range: where on Earth, and what the place is like:
Diet: what it eats, and what might eat it:
Adaptations: two ways its body or habits help it survive:
Is it in danger? Why or why not?:
Compare it with another animal you know:
Bibliography: write each source below as site, page title, date checked:
Where my facts came from
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, species profile, fws.gov/species/desert-tortoise-gopherus-agassizii, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the coyote
Canis latrans · Grades 5–6
| Length | not checked yet: look it up! |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 16 to 20 in (41 to 51 cm) |
| Weight | 25 to 35 lb (11 to 16 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 6 years |
Read about it
Coyotes are very good at adapting, which is why they now live across nearly all of North America. Their big ears and sharp noses help them find food, and a coyote can hear a mouse moving under the snow. Coyotes sometimes hunt side by side with badgers, an unusual team-up between two kinds of animals. Near towns, coyotes are shy of people, so it is best to watch from far away and never feed them.
Habitat and range: where on Earth, and what the place is like:
Diet: what it eats, and what might eat it:
Adaptations: two ways its body or habits help it survive:
Is it in danger? Why or why not?:
Compare it with another animal you know:
Bibliography: write each source below as site, page title, date checked:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Yellowstone, nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/coyote.htm, checked 2026-10-30