I was feeling rather lazy today, so I decided to watch a movie. My pick was an action-adventure movie called ‘Sahara’. A sad adaptation of a very good book, but an okay movie in its own right.

I will congratulate them for at least using the right type of camels in the movie. There are two types of camels, bactarin and dromedary. Bactarin camels have two humps, the dromedary one. The dromedary is the variety native to the Sahara.

However, besides the Camels, no other animals were spotted in the movie’s version of the desert. Although this was a pretty desolate picture presented, which was the movie’s aim, other animals do live in such an extreme habitat.

Most of these creatures might not fit in a movie, but scorpions love the desert. The variety Leiurus quinquestriatu, or ‘Deathstalker’ is extremely venomous,

I got a chance to see these rare creatures during my summer visit to the San Diego Zoo
I got a chance to see these rare creatures during my summer visit to the San Diego Zoo
with most cases ending in death. Perfect movie material!

One of the most majestic creature in the Sahara Desert is the critically endangered Addax (Addax nasomaculatus), one of the rarest creatures in the world. This hoofed mammal resembles an antelope with long twisty horns. They have been overhunted due to their beautiful horns.

So although life in the Saharan desert is sparse, it is not altogether nonexistent.