Desert Animals and Plants (Free Spanish Lessons for Kids)
The fascinating animals in a desert range from coyotes to mountain lions to scorpions, rattlesnakes, lizards, and birds. What they all have in common is their home in the desert biome.
Both hot and cold deserts exist! A region is classified as a desert-based on how dry it is, rather than on its temperature.
Water is essential to life. Because deserts have a scarcity of water, the plants and animals that inhabit the desert biome must be well adapted to survive.
Learning about desert animals in Spanish is super fun and engaging for kids.
So, keep reading for a super fun, kid-centered Spanish-learning guide that teaches vocabulary related to the desert animals in Spanish!
Download FREE Desert Animals in Spanish Fun Kids Activities!
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Explore more FREE SPANISH LESSONS FOR KIDS! ➡️
Enjoy over 70 unique lessons + free activity packets to download.
What Is a Desert?
Not to be confused with a sweet postre (dessert), a desert is a place that gets less than 10 inches (25 cm) of rain per year.
There are 23 deserts in the world, and each one is home to a range of desert animals.
Stony, windy deserts are home to few living creatures. Some deserts are full of plants that retain water, such as cacti and other succulents.
Fun fact!
El desierto más grande del mundo está en la Antártida.
The biggest desert in the world is in Antarctica.
Despite their reputation for being barren and empty, deserts are full of diverse and amazing wildlife that has adapted to the harsh climate and other environmental conditions.
For example, many desert animals are paler than their counterparts in more moderate environments. Pale colors in feathers, fur, scales, or skin not only allow the animal to take in less heat from the environment, but also help to make it less conspicuous to predators in the bright, pallid surroundings. That’s an incredible desert animal adaptation!
Desert Animals in Spanish – Vocabulary
Loads of reptiles, mammals, birds, and insects live in the desert.
The Sonoran Desert (in the US state of Arizona) has over 500 bird species, 130 mammal species, and 100 reptile species!
Check out this vocabulary list to learn the names of the most common desert animals in Spanish.
Hot Desert Animals – Part 1
| English | Spanish |
| aardvark | el cerdo hormiguero |
| addax antelope | el antílope addax |
| armadillo lizard | el lagarto armadillo |
| camel | el camello |
| coyote | el coyote |
| fennec fox | el zorro fénec |
| jackrabbit | la liebre |
| javelina | el pecarí |
Example Sentences in Spanish
El cerdo hormiguero vive en el desierto del Sahara.
The aardvark lives in the Sahara desert.
Las orejas grandes y distintivas del zorro fénec lo ayudan a mantenerse fresco.
The large, distinctive ears of the fennec fox helps it keep cool.
Las liebres son en realidad liebres, no conejos.
Jackrabbits are actually hares, not rabbits.
Hot Desert Animals – Part 2
| English | Spanish |
| kangaroo rat | la rata canguro |
| meerkat | el suricato |
| mountain lion | el puma |
| ostrich | el avestruz |
| rattlesnake | la serpiente de cascabel |
| roadrunner | el correcaminos |
| scorpion | el alacrán |
| tortoise | la tortuga |
| yucca moth | la polilla de la yuca |
Example Sentences in Spanish
Las ratas canguro son nocturnas y comen hojas, tallos y frutas.
Kangaroo rats are nocturnal and eat leaves, stems, and fruit.
Los avestruces pueden alcanzar hasta 9 pies (2.74 m) de altura.
Ostriches can reach up to 9 feet (2.74 m) in height.
El puma es el gato más grande del continente norteamericano y también el gato ronroneador más grande del mundo.
The mountain lion is the largest cat on the North American continent and also the world’s largest purring cat.
Cold Desert Animals in Spanish
| English | Spanish |
| arctic fox | el zorro ártico |
| caribou | el caribú |
| lemming | el leming |
| musk oxen | el buey almizclero |
| polar bear | el oso polar |
Explore more FREE SPANISH LESSONS FOR KIDS! ➡️
Enjoy over 70 unique lessons + free activity packets to download.
Example Sentences in Spanish
Los osos polares viven en la tundra ártica, que es un desierto.
Polar bears live on the Arctic Tundra, which is a desert.
Los caribúes cavan con sus cascos en el suelo helado para buscar comida como musgo.
Caribou dig at the frozen ground with their hooves to look for food, such as moss.
El buey almizclero es un animal de manada que vive en la tundra ártica del norte de Canadá y Groenlandia.
The musk ox is a herd animal that lives in the Arctic tundra of northern Canada and Greenland.
Desert Plants in Spanish
Many desert plants go without water for years due to a lack of rainfall in their ecosystem. Some plants have super long tap roots that reach deep into the Earth for water. Other plants called succulents store water in their leaves or stems.
| English | Spanish |
| ficus | el ficus |
| Mexican poppy | la amapola mexicana |
| orange tree | el naranjo |
| pindo palm | la palmera pindo |
| prickly pear cactus | el nopal |
| saguaro cactus | el cactus saguaro |
| succulents | las suculentas |
| wildflowers | la flor silvestre |
Los cactus necesitan mucha luz.
Cactuses need a lot of light.
Mira las flores silvestres tan bellas.
Look at the beautiful wildflowers.
Desert Animals in Spanish – Activities
Word Search: Desert Animals in Spanish
Use our sopa de letras (word search) and have your students look for vocabulary words from this lesson.
Completing a word search both reinforces Spanish reading skills and develops attention.
Desert Animal Flashcards
Print out our flashcards of desert animal species. Have your student color the illustrations on each flashcard.
This activity is ideal for testing their memory of the content covered in this lesson. It’s great for visual learners to retain concepts and Spanish words. Use the example sentences to give them clues.
Visit Your Local Zoo
Why not take a field trip to the nearest zoo?
The best way for your students to learn about desert animals is by seeing them in action.
Create a space for discussion after the visit where you encourage sentence building and Spanish conversation among students.
Desert Animals in Spanish Videos
Loads of educational videos support kids in Spanish listening, pronunciation, and fluency.
- Los reptiles – Reptiles
- Los animales del desierto para niños – Desert Animals for Kids
- ¿Qué es un desierto? – What is a Desert?
- Los 25 animales del desierto más comunes – The 25 Most Common Desert Animals
Practice and Speak Spanish
The best way for your kids to retain this desert animal in Spanish vocabulary is by using it! Spanish opens doors for your children’s future. It helps them develop strong listening, speaking, writing, and reading skills.
Becoming a confident and fluent Spanish speaker is easy for kids. It’s proven that children have the ability to acquire language skills more quickly and naturally than adults. The sooner they are exposed to Spanish, the faster they’ll learn it.
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