the Ostrich
- Challenge: heat
- Strategy: dissipate heat without perspiratory glands
- How? by panting to cool down
Too hot? You will soon begin to sweat, whether you want to or not. This is how your body cools off: Heat is taken away from the body when sweat evaporates. But what if you were covered in feathers or fur? With no glands to produce sweat, birds use their beaks as a cooling system.
The ostrich, for example, lives in Africa, where temperatures can soar to 40 °C or more. During the hottest part of the day the animal begins to pant, which increases the flow of air into its oral cavity. The moisture in the oral cavity then evaporates, to produce the same cooling effect as sweating. When panting, an ostrich breathes up to ten times faster than normal. Breathing quickly like this is not the same as being ‘out of breath’. Have you ever noticed a dog cooling down in the same way?
