Lost in a Lost in

In 1994, Mauro Prosperi took part in a grueling six-day race called the Marathon of the Sands. Mauro set out to race more than one hundred miles (161 km) across the hot and sandy Desert. On the fourth day of the race, a sandstorm struck! Millions of grains of sand whirled in the air, stinging Mauro’s skin. After the storm ended, Mauro saw no other runners and he couldn’t find the trail. He was lost in the Sahara! Would Mauro make it out of the desert alive? Look inside to learn more about Mauro and other people who have faced deadly conditions while lost in a desert. Along the way, Goldish you’ll also discover fascinating facts about these incredibly dry habitats, including the plants and animals that thrive in them.

Lost at Sea Lost in the Antarctic Lost in a Desert Lost in the Woods Lost in a Rain Forest Lost on a Mountain

by Meish Goldish [Intentionally Left Blank] by Meish Goldish

Consultant: Marie Long Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Tucson, Arizona

1 Credits Cover, © Maridav/Shutterstock, © Tom Wang/Shutterstock, © Julien Hautcoeur/Shutterstock, © SCOTTCHAN/ Shutterstock, and © Aleksey Stemmer/Shutterstock; 4, © Stronger/AFP/Getty Images; 5, © Mauro Prosperi; 6, © Pierre Verdy/AFP/Getty Images; 7, © John Kund/The Image Bank/Getty Images; 8, © Merek Velecjovsky/Shutterstock; 9, © Radius/Superstock; 10, © Incredible /Shutterstock; 10B, © Tobkatrina/Shutterstock; 12L, © Snehit/Shutterstock; 12R, © MBOE/Shutterstock; 13, © Patrick Poendl/Shutterstock; 13R, © Image Broker/FLPA; 14C, © Deon Reynolds/Iconica/ Getty Images; 14B, © Pershing County Sheriff’s Office; 15, © Ethan Miller/Getty Images; 16, © AP Images; 17, © U.S. Air Force/U.S. Department of Defense; 18CR, © Dr. James Hubbard; 18B, © GFC Collection/Alamy; 19, © Kravka/Shutterstock; 20BR, © AP Images; 20–21, © Adstock/Shutterstock; 21, © Carr Clifton/Minden Pictures/FLPA; 22C, © Craig Brewer/ Photographers Choice/Getty Images; 22BR, © Animals Animals/Superstock; 23, © AP Images; 24CL, © Victoria Grover; 24–25, © Claudio Del Luongo/Shutterstock; 25C, © Samphire Photography; 26, © Alan Majchrowicz/Photolibrary/Getty Images; 27, © Stace Hall; 28, © Nic Neish/Shutterstock; 29, © Frans Lanting/FLPA.

Publisher: Kenn Goin Senior Editor: Joyce Tavolacci Creative Director: Spencer Brinker Photo Research: Brown Bear Books Ltd

Library of Congress Cataloging‑in‑Publication Data

Goldish, Meish. Lost in a desert / by Meish Goldish. pages cm.­—(Stranded! Testing the Limits of Survival) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-62724-285-1 (library binding)—ISBN 1-62724-285-6 (library binding) 1. Desert survival—Juvenile literature. I. Title. GV200.5.G65 2015 613.6’9—dc23 2014004644

Copyright © 2015 Bearport Publishing Company, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

For more information, write to Bearport Publishing Company, Inc., 45 West 21st Street, Suite 3B, New York, New York 10010. Printed in the United States of America.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents

Storm in the Sahara...... 4

Lost!...... 6

Desperate to Drink...... 8

What Is a Desert?...... 1 0

Desert Plants and Animals...... 1 2

Struggling to Survive...... 1 4

Keeping Alert...... 1 6

Lessons Learned...... 1 8

A Rough Journey...... 2 0

Finding Food...... 2 2

A Bad Break...... 2 4

Staying Tough...... 2 6

Desert Survival Tips...... 2 8 Glossary...... 3 0 Bibliography...... 31 Read More...... 31 Learn More Online...... 31 Index...... 3 2 About the Author...... 3 2 Storm in the Sahara In the spring of 1994, Mauro Prosperi took part in a grueling six-day race called the Marathon of the Sands in the North African country of Morocco. The 39-year-old Italian police officer, along with 133 other runners, set out to race 151 miles (243 km) across the hot and sandy Sahara Desert.

Every year, runners from around the world take part in the Marathon of the Sands.

4 Mauro knew the race would be very tough. Temperatures in the desert can easily soar to 120°F (49°C). What Mauro didn’t expect, however, was a sandstorm! On the fourth day of the race, millions of grains of sand whirled in the air. They pounded and stung Mauro’s skin. To keep the sand out of his mouth, eyes, and ears, Mauro wrapped a scarf around his face and head. “I needed to keep moving,” he said. If he didn’t, Mauro felt like the blowing sand would bury him alive.

The Sahara Desert

Mauro Prosperi Morocco Sahara Desert

AFRICA

Indian Ocean Atlantic Ocean

The Sahara Desert is the largest desert in the world. It stretches across many countries in Northern Africa, and is about as big as the United States. 5 Lost! For six hours, the powerful sandstorm made it almost impossible to see. When the winds finally died down, Mauro was lost. He saw no other runners and there was no trail—just endless mounds of sand. Mauro had no idea which way to go. Although he was afraid, he didn’t panic.

A powerful sandstorm blowing across the Sahara Desert

Race organizers told Mauro and the other runners not to move and to wait for help if a sandstorm struck. However, Mauro continued to walk during the sandstorm and accidentally wandered far off course.

6 Mauro stayed in the same spot and waited for someone to find him. He fired a flare gun high into the desert sky, hoping someone would see his signal. Yet no one came. The next day he saw a helicopter— but it flew past him. After running out of food and water, Mauro became very weak. Large birds called vultures circled above him. He decided he had to take matters into his own hands in order to make it out of the desert alive.

In the desert, vultures swoop down to eat dead, injured, or sick animals. 7 Index bats 8 LaFever, William 20–21, 22–23, 24 lizards 8, 13 cacti 12 camels 13 10–11 cold 11, 24–25, 26–27 Morocco 4–5

dehydration 8, 19, 28 Nevada 14–15 desert plants 8–9, 12–13, 22 nomads 9

Escalante Desert 11, 20, 22 Prosperi, Mauro 4–5, 6–7, 8–9, 10 Escalante River 20, 22–23 Sahara Desert 4–5, 8–9, 10, 11, 13 frogs 22 sand 4–5, 6, 10 sandstorm 4–5, 6–7 Grover, Victoria 24–25, 26–27 snow 10, 15 heat 4–5, 8–9, 10–11, 12–13, 20–21, survival tips 18–19, 28–29 24–25 Szabo, Laszlo 14–15, 16–17, 18–19 Hubbard, Dr. James 18–19 hypothermia 26–27 20–21, 24

ice 10–11 vultures 7

kangaroo rat 13 Klemovich, James 14–15, 16–17, 18, 20

About the Author Meish Goldish has written more than 200 books for children. His book Disabled Dogs was a Junior Library Guild Selection in 2013. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, where the Brooklyn Botanical Garden has a large display of desert plants from around the world.

32 [Intentionally Left Blank] Lost in a Desert Lost in

In 1994, Mauro Prosperi took part in a grueling six-day race called the Marathon of the Sands. Mauro set out to race more than one hundred miles (161 km) across the hot and sandy Sahara Desert. On the fourth day of the race, a sandstorm struck! Millions of grains of sand whirled in the air, stinging Mauro’s skin. After the storm ended, Mauro saw no other runners and he couldn’t find the trail. He was lost in the Sahara! Would Mauro make it out of the desert alive? Look inside to learn more about Mauro and other people who have faced deadly conditions while lost in a desert. Along the way, Goldish you’ll also discover fascinating facts about these incredibly dry habitats, including the plants and animals that thrive in them.

Lost at Sea Lost in the Antarctic Lost in a Desert Lost in the Woods Lost in a Rain Forest Lost on a Mountain

by Meish Goldish