Episode 5 of the Planet Earth DVD series features the deserts, a harsh environment that covers one third of all the Earth. One such harsh desert environment is found in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert. In the Gobi Desert, temperature extremes like no other are found ranging from -40 degrees celcius to +50 degrees celcius. The Gobi Desert is home to the Bactrian camel, which has to eat snow to maintain its fluid level, being careful not to eat more than 10 litres a day which could be fatal.
In Africa, the Sahara desert is the size of the USA with dust storms that are large enough to completely engulf Great Britain. These dust cause many creatures to have to bury themselves in the sand, while others, such as the dromedary, weather out the storm on the surface. The dust storms are also responsible for massive erosion. Planet Earth demonstrates the erosion power of the dust storms by showing the effect they have had on rocky outcrops in Egypt’s White Desert.
Sand dunes, a common sight in a desert environment, are found all throughout the Earth’s deserts. The biggest dunes are found in Nambia, towering to a height of over 300 metres. Other deserts feature in the Planet Earth DVD series include the Atacama in Chile, the Sonoran in Arizona and the Australian outback. Planet Earth shows animals such as elephants, lions (hunting oryx), red kangaroos (which moisten their forelegs with saliva to keep cool), nocturnal fennec foxes, acrobatic flat lizards feeding on black flies, and dueling Nubian ibex.
The final sequence in Episode 5 of the Planet Earth DVD series shows one of natures most fearsome spectacles: a billion-strong plague of desert locusts destroying all vegetation in its path. The extras on the DVD also explain how the hunt for the elusive Bactrian camels required a two-month trek in Mongolia.
In Africa, the Sahara desert is the size of the USA with dust storms that are large enough to completely engulf Great Britain. These dust cause many creatures to have to bury themselves in the sand, while others, such as the dromedary, weather out the storm on the surface. The dust storms are also responsible for massive erosion. Planet Earth demonstrates the erosion power of the dust storms by showing the effect they have had on rocky outcrops in Egypt’s White Desert.
Sand dunes, a common sight in a desert environment, are found all throughout the Earth’s deserts. The biggest dunes are found in Nambia, towering to a height of over 300 metres. Other deserts feature in the Planet Earth DVD series include the Atacama in Chile, the Sonoran in Arizona and the Australian outback. Planet Earth shows animals such as elephants, lions (hunting oryx), red kangaroos (which moisten their forelegs with saliva to keep cool), nocturnal fennec foxes, acrobatic flat lizards feeding on black flies, and dueling Nubian ibex.
The final sequence in Episode 5 of the Planet Earth DVD series shows one of natures most fearsome spectacles: a billion-strong plague of desert locusts destroying all vegetation in its path. The extras on the DVD also explain how the hunt for the elusive Bactrian camels required a two-month trek in Mongolia.
Post adapted from Wikipedia. Content is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
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