<P> The central Sahara is estimated to include five hundred species of plants, which is extremely low considering the huge extent of the area . Plants such as acacia trees, palms, succulents, spiny shrubs, and grasses have adapted to the arid conditions, by growing lower to avoid water loss by strong winds, by storing water in their thick stems to use it in dry periods, by having long roots that travel horizontally to reach the maximum area of water and to find any surface moisture, and by having small thick leaves or needles to prevent water loss by evapotranspiration . Plant leaves may dry out totally and then recover . </P> <P> Several species of fox live in the Sahara including: the fennec fox, pale fox and Rüppell's fox . The addax, a large white antelope, can go nearly a year in the desert without drinking . The dorcas gazelle is a north African gazelle that can also go for a long time without water . Other notable gazelles include the rhim gazelle and dama gazelle . </P> <P> The Saharan cheetah (northwest African cheetah) lives in Algeria, Togo, Niger, Mali, Benin, and Burkina Faso . There remain fewer than 250 mature cheetahs, which are very cautious, fleeing any human presence . The cheetah avoids the sun from April to October, seeking the shelter of shrubs such as balanites and acacias . They are unusually pale . The other cheetah subspecies (northeast African cheetah) lives in Chad, Sudan and the eastern region of Niger . However, it is currently extinct in the wild in Egypt and Libya . There are approximately 2000 mature individuals left in the wild . </P> <P> Other animals include the monitor lizards, hyrax, sand vipers, and small populations of African wild dog, in perhaps only 14 countries and red - necked ostrich . Other animals exist in the Sahara (birds in particular) such as African silverbill and black - faced firefinch, among others . There are also small desert crocodiles in Mauritania and the Ennedi Plateau of Chad . </P>

The sahara facts climate and animals of the desert