Rain gives desert dwellers chance to mate and lay eggs

Animals living in the desert are adapted to both wet and dry times. They mostly depend on seasonal rainfall to trigger their reproductive cycles.

One example is the frog. Frogs may lie buried in the sand for months until the wet season arrives because they can only mate when there is rain.

Other animals living in the desert treasure heavy downpours.

Once the first drops of rain hit the ground, the animals are triggered to mate and lay eggs in a very short time. Both the toad and brine shrimp respond to the rain quickly.

During dry months, the adult toads remain dormant in holes underground which they dig with their limb, whereas the eggs of the brine shrimps sit in one of the dried-out puddles.

When the toad senses rain, the male begins to call loudly to attract females.