To get a drink of clean water, most people just turn on the tap. Imagine if there was no running water and you didn't live near a river! That's what it's like for many little animals who live in the city and can't turn the water faucets themselves.

If you watch birds after a good rain, you can see them drinking little raindrops off the tips of leaves, but what do they do when it hasn't rained for a while?

Since birds and other beings who live in the city must work hard and think hard how to survive, they seek out any little puddles of water they can find. Cracks and dips in the pavement can hold water after it has rained, but look at the water: it can be shiny with motor oil or full of trash. Drinking it could be hazardous to anyone's health, but sometimes animals have no choice.

Did You Know?

• Animal bodies, including yours, are 98 percent water!
• A camel can sip up to thirty gallons of water at one time!
• The only rodent who doesn't drink water is a kind of desert rat called the kangaroo rat. Kangaroo rats get all the water they need by eating the juicy leaves of desert plants. Another desert rat rolls a stone in front of her burrow every night to catch the dew so that she can drink in the morning.
• One type of desert frog can wait as long as seven years for water by surrounding himself in a type of see-through bag that becomes his first meal once the rain comes.
• Once evaporated, a water molecule spends about ten days in the air as mist.

What You Can Do

Turn on the tap for those who can't:

• Turn a shallow baking pan into a birdbath to allow feathered beings to splash around and cool down on hot days. Hint: Water pans must always be kept clean and should never be more than two inches deep, or birds, especially youngsters, can slip in and not be able to get out again. Change the water every day.
• Clean out trash from watering holes in the pavement or in other places where birds and other animals may drink.
• Trees need water, too. A healthy tree is a living home for lots of animals. Dump a pan of water at the base of a tree "house" in hot weather, turn on the garden hose and/or sprinkler for plants and trees. The evening or early morning is the best time or you can scorch the plants.
• Look out for dogs on chains and rabbits in hutches; they need water bowls with fresh water daily. Ask your neighbors to let you secure water bowls in tires or onto a fence to avoid spills, or weigh the bowls down with clean rocks or a brick. Scrub out and refill water bowls at home, too.
• For little animals like hamsters, mice, and guinea pigs who use bottles, make sure their water bottles are clean and their necks unclogged. And leave a little bowl of water, too, for safety's sake, because it would be absolutely terrible if you thought they were able to drink but the bottle wasn't working!