What are some wild animals native to the Sahara desert?
The Sahara, the largest hot desert, is also one of the harshest environments on earth. In most of the Sahara, there is very little water or vegetation to support life, esp. the most central region. However, the camel, which are most commonly associated with the desert were introduced because of their advantages over horses. They can move quickly and easily through the sand with their large soft feet which are aligned, and can survive without food or water up to 17 days due to the fat stored in their humps used for energy.Rodents, lizards such as the Monitor lizards, scorpions, and snakes thrive in this harsh desert. With over 40 species of rodents, the Jerboa is one that keeps cool by burrowing beneath the desert sands. The venomous Death Stalker scorpion can grow to nearly 4 inches finds its home in the Sahara. There are several species of sidewinders. Well known is the Horned Viper has now has been placed on the endanger species list. The Scarab beetle once a holy symbol to the mighty Egyptians, is also known as the dung beetle.The largest mammal here is the Screwhorn or Addax antelope travel in small herds and sucks moisture from desert grasses and bushes to survive. Its large hooves allow them to ease through the desert sand. Another, is the sleek and graceful Dorcas or Ariel gazelle avoids prey by its automatic jumping ability called “stotting,” but if forced to run from predator, it can reach up to a 49mph.Carnivorous animals include jackals and several species of hyenas, but the Fennec Fox weighs less than 3 lbs. tunnels its home in the sand dunes during the day & preys on rodents at night.
Do people live in the Sahara desert? If so, what is it like?
Yes people do indeed live in the Sahara desert. They have adapted their customs and culture in order to successfully survive in a desert environment. The primary inhabitants of the desert would be the Tuareg people.Most of the Tuareg people hace ancestry from African countries such as Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. Due to so much complexity, they are highly interracial but have their own language.The culture of the Tuareg people is strictly nomadic. They organize themselves in clans, each clan made up of families and lead by an appointed chief. A series of clan often form together to create a confederacy. They are a hierarchical society, all matrilineal, meaning women have high status.Their religion is Islam. Traditionally, the women do not wear the veil, but men do. However, anyone Tuareg can wear the veil if they choose to, it is not necessarily forbidden.More specifically, a type of turban called the Tagelmust is used by both sexes covering their hair, neck, mouth a and nose. This his highly useful to prevent dirt and sand from entering the body in every-day activities. It was originated from the belief that it also wards off evil energy and spirits, but due to modern influence from Islam, this belief is not as prevalent anymore.The Tuareg people traditionally wear robe-like clothes that cover their entire bodies. This is again, to protect themselves from sand, insects, dirt and filth. The traditional clothes tend to be indigo. This is why sometimes the Tuareg people are referred as the “Indigo people” or the “Blue people.” This is how traditional Tuareg clothes look like:Within clans or confederacies, members look out for each other. Each individual chooses or is assigned a different job. It largely depends on the clans’ or family’s needs.Confederacies and clans have been known to have gone through armed conflicts with each other. Government policies from surrounding conflicts conflicts that have affected the Tuaregs have become armed conflicts as well.The Tuaregs are known for having lots of games, and producing various types of arts such as amulets, accessories and jewelry inspires by Islamic art.I hope I was of any help.
If Sahara is Arabic for desert...?
You are correct. When this happens it is called a Tautology. There is a place in England called Torpenhow Hill, which was for a while believed to be the only example of a quadruple tautology. It was believed that the name Torpenhow started with an Old (like at least 2000 years old) English word for hill, "Tor". Then at some point after that, Old Welsh, or a similar old Celtic language was the dominant language in the area and they, after hearing that this hill was called "Tor", put the Old Welsh word for hill after it, so it became "Tor Pen". When the Vikings invaded Britain, they found this place that was called Tor Pen by the locals, and they noticed that it was a hill, so they put their word for hill after the name, and it became "Torpen How", and then in recent times (the last few hundred years), modern English took over again, and this place called Torpenhow was obviously a hill, so they called it Torpenhow Hill. This means that a literal translation of the name "Torpenhow Hill", if you trace each part back to its alleged original meaning, is "Hill hill hill hill". Sadly, it is now believed that this story is not actually true (although we can never be certain, since these languages are so old there is very little written history), but it shows how these things happen. Some other examples of tautologies (although sadly no quadruple tautologies!) Connecticut river - Conecticut comes from a Native American (Algonquian) word 'quinetucket" meaning 'Long Tidal River' so when you say Connecticut River you are saying Long Tidal River River Mississippi River - Mississippi means "Big river" in a native American language Humber River (there is one in the UK, and one in Canada) - Humber is a Bythonic (ancient language spoken in Britain) word for river. Faroe Islands - Faroe was Old Danish for 'Sheep Island' the country East Timor - Timor is the Malay word for "East" Gobi Desert - Gobi (almost) means desert in Mongolian Milky Way Galaxy - Bizarrely (this is definitely the weirdest one), the word "galaxy" is ancient Greek for "milky circle" I could bore you by adding to this list or just give you the link to the wikipedia page where i'm stealing all this from. haha http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tautological_place_names