Mud is wet dirt. Mud is sticky. Mud is slimy. Mud is useful, too. Click the arrows to see different ways animals use mud.
Rhinoceroses wallow in mud to cool down.
The mud also coats their skin and acts like sunscreen.
Swallowtail butterflies land on puddles of mud. They drink the water to get minerals that are good for them.
Cliff swallows build nests out of small balls of mud.
Some crabs burrow, or dig a hole, in mud. They live or hide in the hole.
Sandhill cranes use their beaks to “paint” their feathers with mud. It helps them blend in with brown grasses.
without mud
with mud