Desert Animals Class 6 Chapter 9 Question Answers and Explanation

The chapter “Desert Animals” is taken from Melody English for students of Class 6 of JKBOSE and Honeysuckle English for students of NCERT. You have already read about the Summary and Word Meaning of chapter Desert Animals in my last post. This post is about Desert Animals Class 6 Chapter 9 Question Answers and Line by Line Explanation. Let’s get started with this post:

Desert Animals Class 6 Chapter 9 Question Answers

Introduction

The chapter tells us about how desert animals cope with the hot and harsh conditions of the deserts. Deserts are the driest places on the earth and receive very less rainfall. The chapter is about how animals living in the desert have adapted their body to such conditions.

Desert Animals Class 6 Working with the Text

A. 1. Talk to your partner and say whether the following statements are True or False.

(i) No animals can survive without water.

Ans. True

(ii) Deserts are endless sand dunes.

Ans.  False

(iii) Most snakes are harmless.

Ans. True

(iv) Snakes cannot hear, but they can feel vibrations through the ground.

Ans. True

(v) Camel stores water in their humps.

Ans.  False

2. Answer the following questions.

B. Read the words/phrases in the box. With your partner find their meanings in the dictionary.

Fill in the blanks in the following passage with the above words/phrases.

All animals in forests and deserts struggle to ___________ in___________. Though most of the animals are ___________, some are dangerous when ___________. If an ___________ is noticed, they attack or bite to save themselves. They struggle ___________for food and water. Some animals are called ___________ because they ___________ on other animals.

Ans: All animals in forests and deserts struggle to survive in harsh conditions. Though most of the animals are harmless; some are dangerous when threatened. If an intruder is noticed, they attack or bite to save themselves. They struggle continually for food and water. Some animals are called predators because they prey on other animals.

Desert Animals Speaking

Look at these sentences.

• Deserts are the driest places on the Earth.
• Gerbils spend the hottest part of the day in cool underground burrows.

Now form pairs. Ask questions using a suitable form of the word in brackets. Try to answer the questions too.

Do you know

1. Which animal is the ………………… (tall)?

Ans. The giraffe is the tallest animal.

2. Which animal runs the …………………. (fast)?

Ans. The cheetah runs the fastest.

3. Which place on the Earth is the ……………. (hot) or the …………… (cold)?

Ans. Al Aziziyah, Libya is the hottest and Soviet Vostok Station in Antarctica is the coolest on the Earth.

4. Which animal is the …………. (large)?

Ans. The blue whale is the largest animal.

5. Which is the ………………. (tall) mountain in the world?

Ans. Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world.

6. Which is the ……………. (rainy) place on the Earth?

Ans. Mawsynram in Meghalaya is the rainiest place on the Earth.

7. Which is the …………………(old) living animal?

Ans. The giant tortoise is the oldest living animal.

Can you add some questions of your own?

Ans. Students have to add a few more questions like the above.

Desert Animals Thinking About Language

A. Look at these sentences.

• Most snakes are quite harmless, but a few are poisonous.
• Most snakes lay eggs, but the rattlesnake gives birth to its young.

Now write five sentences like these using ‘most’ and the clues below.

1. (90% of) people are honest (10%) are dishonest.

Ans. Most of the people are honest, but a few are dishonest.

2. (Lots of) fruit have plenty of sugar, (some) citrus fruit are low in sugar.

Ans. Most of the fruits have plenty of sugar, but some citrus fruits are low in sugar.

3. (Every soft drink except this one) has lots of ‘empty calories.

Ans. Most of the soft drinks have lots of empty calories except this one.

4. (The majority of) films are romances, (a few) are on other topics.

Ans. Most of the films are romances, only a few are on other topics.

5. (A majority of) people agree that he is a good leader, (just a few) disagree.

Ans. Most of the people agree that he is a good leader, just a few disagree.

B. Look at these sentences.

• Animals cannot survive for long without water.
• So, desert animals have to find different ways of coping.

The first sentence says what cannot happen or be done; the second tells us what must, therefore, be done, what it is necessary to do. Complete these sentences using cannot and have to/has to.

1. You ______________ reach the island by land or air; you ______________ go by boat.

Ans. You cannot reach the island by land or air; you have to go by boat.

2. We ______________ see bacteria with our eyes; we ______________ look at them through a microscope.

Ans. We cannot see bacteria with our eyes; we have to look at them through a microscope.

3. He ______________ have a new bicycle now; he______________ wait till next year.

Ans. He cannot have a new bicycle now; he has to wait till next year.

4. Old people often______________ hear very well; they ______________ use a hearing aid.

Ans. Old people often cannot hear very well; they have to use a hearing aid.

5. Road users______________ do what they wish; they______________ follow the traffic rules.

Ans. Road users cannot do what they wish; they have to follow the traffic rules.

6. She ______________ accept this decision; she ______________ question it.

Ans. She cannot accept this decision; she has to question it.

7. You______________ believe everything you hear; you______________ use your own judgement.

Ans. You cannot believe everything you hear; you have to use your own judgement.

Desert Animals Writing

Imagine you are journeying through a desert. Write a couple of paragraphs describing what you see and hear.

Ans. A desert is not a suitable place to live. I visited the Thar Desert in Rajasthan and did not like it. It is a nightmare to journey through the desert. It was very hot there with endless sand and sand dunes. I saw a few thorny bushes and cactus plants in the name of vegetation. Camels can be found everywhere. One can also see mongooses and jackals in the area. There were small villages around the oasis.  Life in the deserts is very difficult. There is a scarcity of water and greenery in deserts. We hear the blowing of hot winds and the howling of sandstorms.

Desert Animals Class 6 Line by Line Explanation

DESERTS are the driest places on earth and sometimes go for months, or even years, without rain. But even the desert animals cannot survive without water, or for long periods in the scorching sun, so they have had to find different ways of coping with the harsh conditions. For example, gerbils spend the hottest part of the day in cool underground burrows. And strange insects called darkling beetles are experts at catching drops of moisture on their legs, then lifting them into the air until the drops trickle down into their mouths. Not all deserts are endless seas of rolling sand dunes. Some are rocky or pebbly and dotted with small bushes while others are sprinkled with colourful flowers during the spring.

Explanation: Deserts are the driest places on the earth and receive very scanty rainfall. Sometimes deserts don’t receive rainfall for months or even several years. The animal living in the deserts cannot survive without water for such a long period of time so they find different ways to surpass the fiery hot and harsh conditions. An animal named Gerbils spends the hottest time of the day in the underground burrows while the insects named darkling beetles capture moisture from the air on their legs and hold their legs upright till water drops fell into their mouths. Deserts are not only made of sand and sand dunes. Some deserts even have rocks and pebbles while some deserts even have some colourful during the spring season.

There are more than 2300 different kinds of snakes around the world, ranging from just fifteen centimetres long to more than eleven metres. Most snakes are quite harmless — but there are a few that are so poisonous they can kill a human being with just one bite. Most snakes lay eggs, but there are many which give birth to their young. In the dry, rocky deserts of America lives a rather evil-looking snake with a very bad reputation. Its frightening rattle can be heard as far as thirty metres away, and it can strike with lightning speed.

Explanation: About 2300 kinds of snakes are found all over the world with their length ranging from 15 centimetres to more than 11 metres. Most of these snakes are not much poisonous but there are some that are very poisonous and can kill anyone with just one bite. Snakes mostly lay eggs but there are many that give birth to young ones too. A very dangerous looking and highly poisonous snake is found in the dry and rocky deserts of America. One can hear its terrifying sound from a distance of about 30 metres and it strikes its prey with lightning speed.   

But the rattlesnake, or ‘rattler’ as it is sometimes called, prefers to avoid people if it possibly can. It holds its tail upright and rattles the end whenever it is disturbed, in the hope that the intruder will go away. However, if its warnings are ignored—and it feels threatened—it will coil ready to bite. But the rattler itself cannot hear the noise its own tail makes. Like most snakes, it ‘hears’ things through vibrations in the ground. If a person walks nearby the snake can feel the movement. But if the same person were to shout, it would not hear a thing. Rattlesnakes are very common and widespread animals, living right across the American continent from Canada to Argentina. They feed on a variety of prey, including mice, voles, rats, chipmunks and many other small animals. Rattlesnakes kill their prey with venom. Like all snakes, they swallow the unfortunate animals whole. Few snakes have to eat more than once a week and some, such as the larger pythons, can survive for a year or more without eating.

Explanation: The rattlesnake usually tries to remain away from people as much as it can whenever it is disturbed it old its tail upright and makes a strong sound to terrify the intruder but if its warnings are ignored, it feels threatened and gets ready to bite the intruder by coiling its body. The snake though makes loud terrifying sounds but cannot hear them. It only feels the vibration on the ground. It can feel the movement of a man walking nearby him but could hear any sound. Rattlesnakes are very common across the American continent from Canada to Argentina. Rattlesnakes feed on a variety of prey including mice, voles, rats, chipmunks and many other small animals. They use the poison in their body to kill their prey and swallow it as a whole. Few snakes eat more than once a week and larger snakes like pythons can live without food for more than a year.

Mongooses like to hunt together, but they always keep a lookout for dangerous predators nearby. Poking their noses into holes, overturning rocks with their paws and scratching the ground with their sharp claws, banded mongooses are very amusing animals to watch. A common sight in many parts of Africa, they travel in groups of about twenty to forage for beetles, millipedes and other small creatures.

Explanation: Mongooses are other animals found in deserts. They like to hunt together but keep eye on their predators. Mongooses are very amusing animals to watch because they keep poking their noses into holes and overturning rocks with their paws and scratching the ground with their claws. They are mainly found in Africa and like to travel in groups of twenty in search of food. They feed on beetles, millipedes and other small creatures.

They like to hunt together, keeping in touch whenever they go out of sight behind rocks or bushes by twittering and calling. Always on the lookout for danger — hawks, eagles and large snakes — they warn one another with a special alarm call if they spot anything suspicious.

Explanation: Mongooses like to hunt together and remain in touch by twittering and calling when they go out of sight behind rocks or bushes while hunting. They also keep eye on their predators like hawks, eagles and large snakes. They make a special alarm call if they sense something suspicious or dangerous.

Mongooses are famous for being able to kill snakes without getting hurt themselves. Their reactions are so fast that they can dodge each time the snake strikes. They continually make a nuisance of themselves until, after a while, when the snake gets tired, they quickly dive in for the kill.

Explanation: Mongooses are famous for their ability to kill snakes without hurting themselves. It kills snakes by its swift movements to dodge the snake every time the snake comes to strike it. They continue doing this until the snake gets tired and then attack the snake and kill it.

All the female mongooses have their kitten at about the same time. They are raised by the whole group in a den made inside an old termite mount or hollow log. When most of the adults are out looking for food, one or two males stay behind to stand guard until the others return for the night.

Explanation: One characteristic thing about mongooses is that all the female mongooses in the group give birth to their young ones at the same time and the babies are taken care of by all the members of the group. They keep these young ones in a den made by termites or in a hollow log. When the adult members of the group went out in search of food, two male members guard the den and take care of the young ones.

Another animal which lives in the desert is the camel. Camels were first domesticated by people many thousands of years ago. In the wild, camels usually live in small groups of up to thirty animals. Camels have long, shaggy winter coats to keep warm and shorter, tidier coats in the summer to keep cool. A thirsty camel can drink as much as thirty gallons of water — that’s about five hundred full glasses — in just ten minutes. Normally, however, it gets all the moisture it needs from desert plants and can survive for up to ten months without drinking any water at all.

Explanation: Camel is another commonly found animal in deserts. Man is domesticating animals for thousands of years. In wild, they live groups of about thirty animals. They have a long untidy long coat of hair to keep them warm in winter while in summer the coat becomes short and keeps the animal cool. When a camel is thirsty, it can drink about 30 gallons of water (500 glasses) in 10 minutes. The body of the camel gets the required moisture from desert plants and it lives without water for almost 10 months.

There are two different kinds of a camel. One, known as the Dromedary, has only a single hump; the other is called a Bactrian camel and has two humps. The humps help the animal to survive in the desert, by acting as storage containers. But they don’t store water — as many people wrongly believe — they are full of fat. This fat nourishes the camels when food is scarce. If they have nothing to eat for several days, their humps shrink as the fat is used up. There are many other ways in which camels are adapted to desert life. Their mouths are so tough that even the sharp thorn cannot pierce through.

Explanation: There are two types of camels based on the number of humps on their back. One type is the Dromedary camel, it has a single hump on its back while the other one is the Bactrian camel, which has two humps on its back. The hump on the back camel is a storage container but it does not store water as most people think. The hump stores fats in it which nourish the camel in harsh conditions. There are many other ways camels use to adapt themselves to the desert. One example is the toughness of their mouth. It is so tough that even sharp thorns cannot pierce it and they can chew thorns with ease.