This Animal Survives Africa’s Hot Climate Without Drinking Water -Ever

Gerenuks are amazing!

Damjan

• Published in Animal Stories
• September 9, 2021

Nuk is an orphaned gerenuk. He was found as a baby and raised in the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya. Besides being adorable, gerenuks are famous for never needing to drink water.

Even though they don’t actually drink water, they can’t live without it, just like all living creatures. What makes them remarkable is that they get all the hydration they need from the plant life they eat, and their bodies are well adapted, so they need much hydration.

Their slender necks, small heads, large ears, and funny noses may make them look a bit like aliens but have an important function in finding food and preventing fluid loss.

The species’ unique features help them reach plants and branches that antelopes and gazelle can’t. For example, they can stand on their back legs very comfortably, and when they extend their long necks, they can reach even trees above 7 feet.

"We rescued Nuk ... in 2013 when he surprised livestock herders by walking home with their goats," the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust staff says. "He had obviously lost his mother and decided the passing goats looked like a good next thing!"

“They can get enough moisture from the plant life they eat and can survive in dry thornbush country and even in the desert,” the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust wrote. “Gerenuks conserve water with uniquely adapted nasal passages, which prevent evaporative loss.”

After spending more than twelve months in the shelter, Nuk was released into the wild. But that doesn’t mean he forgot the kind people who took care of him.

“For a while, he chose to return and visit those who raised him at Kaluku from time to time,” says Amie Alden, communications and media manager for the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. “And we occasionally saw him on the airstrip with a herd of impalas he had taken a liking to.”

The IUCN Redlist states that gerenuks are near extinction due to poaching and habitat loss. But, thanks to the brave survivors like Nuk, the species has a fighting chance.

"It seems he's having a ball of a time and perhaps established his own territory," Alden said. "Though it's bittersweet not to see him, we are proud that he's clearly found his place in the wild — a complete success story."

Damjan