Animals That Don’t Drink Water

Naked Rat Moles Naked rat moles are animals that don’t need to drink water because they eat the part of plants that goes underground. For example, they consume only a segment of a tuber or a root, only to leave something for later to survive on.

Jerboas Another animal that doesn’t drink water is the jerboa. This mammal extracts moisture out of each of its meals. There was an experiment in which jerboas were kept alive for 3 years only on dried seeds.

Sand Gazelles An Arabian desert inhabitant, the sand gazelle must rely on vegetation for both its water and food requirements. It breathes less than other animals, as its heart and liver have been reduced in size to adapt to dryness.  

Koalas According to scientists, koalas only infrequently or never drink water in the wild. Their drinking habits are often regarded as uncommon and linked to illness or extreme heat stress. These fluffy animals get their water from plant leaves or lick it from tree trunks’ sides.

Kangaroo Rats Despite eating dry seeds for most of their diet, kangaroo rats seldom require water and depend only on the water produced by the seeds they consume. Each gram of seeds chewed by a kangaroo rat provides its body half of a gram of water.

Thorny Devils The thorny devil is a moisture-harvesting lizard that shows the most impressive adaptation skills for living in dry environments. The microstructured surface of its skin has channels between overlapping scales, which allows the water to be carried to the mouth for ingestion via capillary action.

Water Holding Frog The water holding frog is another Australian species that has a unique adaption to wade off the dry seasons when there is less or no water. The species takes water in during the rainy months and during dry spells the skin of the frog secrets a cocoon like sticky mucus that prevents the moisture from escaping. Besides they go into hibernation underground and emerge only when the wet spell kicks in again.

Gerenuk Gerenuks are slender, graceful animals whose name means “giraffe necked.” They’re a type of antelope found in Africa but they appear to be much smaller than most species. Their heads, in particular, are rather tiny which, combined with their large eyes and ears make them look almost cartoonish.