AnimalsDesert
Jerboa Fun facts for kids
Dipodidae (family); e.g. Jaculus jaculus, the lesser Egyptian jerboa
The jerboa lives in deserts in Africa and Asia and eats seeds, plants and insects.
- Where it lives
- in deserts in Africa and Asia
- What it eats
- seeds, plants and insects
- How big it is
- small enough to fit in a hand
Fun facts about the jerboa
The ones Sammy likes best. She tells them in the game, too.
The long-eared jerboa has the biggest ears for its body size of any mammal, about two thirds as long as its body.
Many jerboas never drink water. They get every drop they need from seeds, bugs and juicy plants.
A jerboa no bigger than a hamster can leap about 3 metres in one jump when it gets a fright.
A jerboa looks like a mouse that borrowed a kangaroo's back legs and a lion's tufted tail.
It escapes foxes and owls by hopping in zigzags on back feet up to four times longer than its front feet.
Its long tail helps it balance in the air and works like a bike stand when it sits up.
Its long ears hear so well that they can pick up the flapping wings of an owl coming closer.
It plugs the door of its burrow with sand to keep the heat out.
Riddle
Can a friend guess it?
Read the clues to someone, one at a time, without saying the animal. How many clues do they need? Fewer is better, just like in the game.
I live in a hot, sandy desert and sleep under the ground all day.
I plug the door of my home with sand to keep the heat out.
I never drink water, I get every drop from seeds, bugs and juicy plants.
My long ears are so sharp that I can hear an owl's wings coming closer.
I look like a tiny mouse, but I bounce in zigzags on long back legs, like a kangaroo.
Sammy might be thinking of a jerboa.
In Thought Zoo, Sammy picks an animal and you ask her yes-or-no questions to find it. You'll find the jerboa in the Desert adventure.
Play the DesertComing to iPad, iPhone and Android on 12 January 2027
