Gazelles have adapted to inhabit waterless steppe, subdesert, and even desert. They can extract water from the plants they browse without having to drink.

Many desert dwellers survive by following the rare rains or burrowing during the day. But according to a new paper, the sand gazelle has adopted a unique strategy: It shrinks its liver and heart. Downsizing these oxygen-consuming organs allows the gazelle to breathe less often, decreasing water loss.

Gazelles are thin, graceful antelopes that live in Africa and Asia. They resemble deer and are in the same family as goats, cattle and sheep. Gazelles can be identified by their curved, ringed horns, tan or reddish-brown coats and white rumps. Often, there are spots or stripes on their coats.

Overview. The Gazelle is an inexpensive piece of cardio equipment. You use muscles in your upper body and lower body to push and pull levels and move pedals in a circular fashion. The machine is designed to build muscle tone and boost fitness.

Species

Gazelles have a stiff-legged jump called a stot. Hiding: Lechwes spend their life near water and can jump in and swim away if they feel threatened. They also hide in water, with only their nose sticking out.

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There are few sources of drinking water in the desert, so sand gazelles must rely on vegetation for both food and water requirements.

The mechanisms some desert animals have evolved to retain water are even more elaborate. They range from simple to physiologically complex. Some retain water by burrowing into moist soil during the dry daylight hours (all desert toads).

Desert animals prevent water leaving their bodies in a number of different ways. Some, like kangaroo rats and lizards, live in burrows which do not get too hot or too cold and have more humid (damp) air inside. The kidneys of desert animals concentrate urine, so that they excrete less water.

A sand gazelle can shrink its liver to conserve water. Williams and his coworkers suggest that by shrinking their livers during times of extreme water shortages, sand gazelles decrease the number of active mitochondria. As a result, these animals “breathe less often and, over time, lose less water,” he says.

Young gazelles need a high amount of water for their survival. However, once they are able to fend for themselves, they adapt to using little water or no water at all. In fact, some gazelles can live their life without drinking water.

In an extreme way to beat the heat, a sand gazelle shrinks its liver and heart to cope with long periods of drought, a new study reveals. By shrinking these organs, the gazelles don’t have to breathe as much and thus reduce the amount of water lost by respiratory evaporation.

Small rodents and birds, such as cactus wrens, have specialized nasal passages that cool the breath before it is exhaled, condensing water for re-absorption. Many desert lizards possess nasal salt glands that excrete potassium and sodium chloride with very little water loss.

For example, they:

• have thick fur on feet protecting them from the hot ground;
• have large, bat-like ears radiate body heat and help keep them cool;
• have long, thick hair that insulates them during cold nights and protects them from the hot sun during the day;