Animals In The Desert That Eat Cactus. Desert biomes are characterized by the presence of animals and plants which need minimal moisture for their survival. And we are looking at some of the inhabitants of the driest and hottest places on earth!
They have adapted themselves to eating food like cactus, succulent plants, seeds, or the blood and body tissues of their prey to get the water and nourishment. Many small animals, such as bats and mice, eat cactus in the dessert. There are mice in the desert that get their entire water supply from dry seeds.
For many animals such as the bighorn sheep and the antelope ground squirrel, cactus are an important source of food and water.
Did you know there are other animals that eat cactus? Animals such as deers, squirrels, birds, beetles, tortoises, pack rats, javelinas, antelopes and jackrabbits all eat cactus fruit. Cacti are natives only to american deserts where they are fed on by deer, javelina, desert tortoises and some rodents. Residential neighborhoods in the american southwest can be magnets for local desert animals.