the kangaroo rat, is amazing at dodging predators with ninja like precision and agility
this small rodent, lives in the desert and has large ears, to regulate its bloodflow to keep it cool
the kangaroo rat, is now a "true rat"
typo, its NOT a true rat
the kangaroo rat, can jump 28 times its body height
it does flips in the air and maintains itself in the air for a long time when jumping, using its tail like a sort of helicopter
it also uses its tail to balance in the air and decide where it will land
its long tail provides enough force to counteract the force of the gravitational pull on some parts of its body when it needs to do flips or dodging in the air
the kangaroo rat, is bipedal because it stays on 2 limbs to get around, jumping everywhere hence its kangaroo like appearance
these powerful limbs can be used to kick away certain predators, if their dodging in mid air fails, mainly snakes
they have a very powerful kick
although people will say these rodents are nocturnal, they are only mostly nocturnal as they do come out in the day although rarely
they store food in their fur lined cheek pouches
the kangaroo rat, has fur on the bottom of its feet, this fur helps the rat from slipping when it needs to jump quickly on the desert sand and help it change direction quickly without falling
the kangaroo rat has large eyes that can see in the dark (obviously, its a mostly nocturnal rodent)
the kangaroo rat being mostly nocturnal helps it to evade the desert heat in the day, staying in its burrow which has many complex chambers or rooms, for things from sleeping, to storing food, to living, and so on during the desert heat
yet coming out in the much cooler nights
kangaroo rats need little water and can go several days without drinking, they get much of there water from eating vegetation and dig up water from the ground when it is needed
kangaroo rats are granivores/herbivores and seeds provide most of their dietary needs but they also eat things such as the succulent purslane, and grass, and so on
(nod to purslane its a good thing to forage and is delicious, i have foraged it and it grows right from the sidewalk, very common, juicy and good in salads, amazing helper of red blood cells and a booster for iron and and copper and has lots of omega 3 fatty acids, i love gathering this for me and my husband and eating it when i forage)