Southern Africa is home to the Meerkat (Suricata suricatta), also known as the suricate. Its big head, large eyes, pointed nose, long legs, slender tail, and brindled coat pattern are distinguishing features. The weight normally ranges from 0.62 to 0.97 kg, while the head and body length are between 9.4 and 24 cm (1.4 and 2.1 lb). With alternate, ill-defined light and dark streaks on the back, the coat ranges in color from light grey to yellowish brown. To survive in their harsh, dry home, meerkats have foreclaws that are specialized for digging and the capacity to control their body temperature. There are three recognized subspecies.

Meerkats are active during the day, primarily in the early and late afternoon. They are constantly on the lookout for danger and retreat to their burrows when it arises. They communicate with one another using a wide range of cries for a variety of reasons, such as to sound the alarm when they spot a predator. Meerkats are primarily insectivorous, and a large portion of their food consists of beetles, lepidopterans, arthropods, amphibians, small birds, reptiles, and plant matter. Meerkats love nothing more than basking together in the sun. They are well adapted to the heat and have dark skin on their stomachs, which they use to regulate their body temperature by resting on their stomachs to cool off or their backs to warm up.

Pinnipeds known as Sea Lions have large chests and bellies, external ear flaps, lengthy fore flippers, the ability to walk on all fours, and short, dense hair. They make up the family Otariidae, or eared seals, along with fur seals. There are five genera and six living species of sea lions, including one extinct species (the Japanese sea lion). With the remarkable exception of the northern Atlantic Ocean, their distribution spans the subarctic to tropical seas of the entire world's oceans in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. They often live for 20 to 30 years. A male California sea lion weighs on average about 300 kg (660 lb) and is about 2.4 m (8 ft) long, while the female sea lion weighs 100 kg (220 lb) and is 1.8 m (6 ft) long. The largest sea lions are Steller's sea lions, which can weigh 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) and grow to a length of 3.0 m (10 ft).

For sea lions, sunbathing is a serious business. They gather in sizable colonies around the Pacific coast, where they spend a lot of time noisy bickering about the finest places to sun themselves. If you're lucky, you could observe them floating on their sides with one flipper up, the light warming their bodies as the blood runs through them.

Large and semi-aquatic, the Hippopotamus is a native of sub-Saharan Africa. The pygmy hippopotamus is the other one of just two remaining species in the family Hippopotamidae (Choeropsis liberiensis or Hexaprotodon liberiensis). Its name is derived from the Greek word for "river horse". The largest land mammal is the hippopotamus, followed by elephants and rhinos. Additionally, it is the largest living land artiodactyl. The closest surviving relatives of the Hippopotamidae are cetaceans (whales, dolphins, porpoises, etc.), from whom they separated some 55 million years ago, despite their morphological resemblance to pigs and other terrestrial even-toed ungulates.

When the weather is chilly, hippos warm themselves by taking a sunbath on the banks of rivers and lakes. However, they take skincare seriously, secreting their own natural sunscreen to keep their skin hydrated and stop it from cracking and drying out. People were misled by the pinkish-red color of sunscreen into thinking that hippos sweat blood when, in fact, they don't.

The eastern water dragon (Intellagama lesueurii lesueurii) and the Gippsland water dragon (Intellagama lesueurii howittii) subspecies are both members of the Australian Water Dragon (Intellagama lesueurii) species, which is native to eastern Australia from Victoria north to Queensland. On South Australia's southeast coast, there might be a small introduced population. Australian water dragons have protruding nuchal and vertebral crests, strong, robust limbs and claws for climbing, and a long, muscular, laterally compressed tail for swimming.

The Australian water dragon is semi-aquatic and linked with water, as its name would imply. It can be found next to water bodies like creeks, rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water that provide basking areas like overhanging branches or rocks in direct or indirect sunlight. The species is extremely prevalent in Queensland's Mount Coot-tha rainforest, where a memorial has been erected in their honor. Lizards require UVB sunlight because, without it, their bones will weaken. For heat and light, a reptile bulb is the best option. Australian water dragons require hot, sunny conditions between 95 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit.

A real thrush is the Common Blackbird (Turdus merula). When this avoids confusion with a similarly-looking local species, it is also known as the blackbird, the Eurasian blackbird, or simply the blackbird (particularly in North America, where it is distinguished from the unrelated New World blackbirds). It has been introduced to Australia and New Zealand and breeds in Europe, Asiatic Russia, and North Africa. Over the course of its extensive distribution, it has a number of subspecies; some of the Asian subspecies are occasionally regarded as whole species. The common blackbird can be resident, partially migratory, or entirely migratory depending on latitude.

The most well-known examples of bird species that sunbathe include robins and blackbirds. It's not unusual to observe a blackbird relaxing in your garden on a bright day with its wings spread wide and feathers fluffed out. This contributes to the distribution of preen oil, which is crucial for maintaining the health of their feathers, as part of their feather care. Additionally, sunbathing brings out any parasites that might be hidden in the bird's feathers.

The Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus), commonly known as the sea iguana, saltwater iguana, or Galápagos marine iguana, may be found (Ecuador). It is a marine reptile that is distinct from other contemporary lizards in that it can forage in the sea for algae, which accounts for approximately all of its diet. The only living lizard that regularly spends time in a marine environment is the marine iguana. While females and smaller males forage in the intertidal zone at low tide, large males can dive to reach this food supply. Smaller men have various methods of mating while larger males only defend their territories for a brief time. After mating, the female creates a nest hole in the ground, lays her eggs, and then waits a few months for them to hatch on their own.

Like other lizards, the marine iguana is frequently spotted sunbathing. They are indigenous to the Galapagos Islands, where they spend a lot of time in the sea due to their excellent swimming abilities. Being cold-blooded, they are unable to control their body temperature and must warm up by sunbathing on the lava rocks after swimming in the ocean.

The term "Garter Snake" refers to tiny to medium-sized, typically nocturnal snakes of the genus Thamnophis in the family Colubridae. Thamnophis species are native to North and Central America, and they can be found everywhere from the subarctic plains of Canada to Costa Rica. Garter snakes have roughly 35 identified species and subspecies, and they all look very different from one another. The majority of them have wide, rounded eyes with round pupils, a slender body, keeled scales, and a pattern of longitudinal stripes with or without spots (others don't have stripes at all). Additionally, they come in a wide range of overall lengths, ranging from 18" to 51". (45-130cm).

Garter snakes spend the whole winter in a dormant state, often from late October through March or early April, however, you may catch a glimpse of one out in the open enjoying the sun on a bright winter day. Like other reptiles, they have a cold-blooded nature, therefore sunbathing helps them warm up. Garter snakes will seek out a warm, cozy location underground to spend the winter. In order to stay warm, garter snakes also spend the winter together. Snakes maintain their hydration during hibernation by absorbing moisture via their skin.

The most common native turtle in North America is the Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta). From southern Canada to northern Mexico and from the Atlantic to the Pacific, it inhabits slowly moving freshwaters. Large wetlands with protracted periods of inundation and emergent plants have been found to be their preference. This turtle belongs to the genus Chrysemys, which is a subspecies of the Emydidae family of pond turtles. The painted turtle was alive 15 million years ago, according to fossil evidence. The eastern, midland, and western subspecies all developed during the last ice age. It is debatable if the southern painted turtle (C. dorsalis), another subspecies of the larger Chrysemys picta, is the only other species.

Painted turtles require sunbathing to absorb heat and maintain a constant body temperature, just as the marine iguana. At dawn, they emerge from the water and spend several hours in the sun to acclimate and prepare for the day. While they may choose to lounge on the sand, they are more likely to find a makeshift raft to perch on and take a dip in the ocean to soak up the sun. The turtle's health benefits from basking because any ectoparasites dry out and fall off in the sunlight.

A huge reptile belonging to the family Alligatoridae and the genus Alligator of the Crocodilia order is an Alligator. The American alligator (A. mississippiensis) and the Chinese alligator are the only two species still living (A. sinensis). Several extinct alligator species are also known from fossilized remnants. About 37 million years ago, during the Oligocene period, alligators first appeared. Early Spanish explorers and settlers in Florida called el Lagarto, the Spanish word for "the lizard", the alligator. The name "alligator" is likely an anglicized version of this term. The term was later spelled allagarta and alagarto in English.

Alligators spend a lot of time basking, either by themselves or in big groups known as congregations because they depend on the sun to control their body temperature. They adore warm weather, but when it gets too warm, they go swimming to cool down. Alternately, you might see them releasing any heat by opening their mouths while they are basking.

Western North America is home to the intermittent and typically insignificant orchard pest known as the Western Boxelder Bug. It reproduces on boxelder and maple trees, but in the late summer, it might move in huge numbers to orchards. It can occasionally be a pest in homes. They will travel from surrounding host trees to buildings when populations are large. In the winter, adults hibernate in cracks in trees and structures. In spring, females lay eggs in cracks in tree bark. Eggs hatch in 10 to 14 days. Nymphs feed on flowers, fruits, foliage, and tender twigs. Adults may migrate to orchards in late summer, shortly before fruit matures. There is one generation each year in the Northwest.

Western boxelder bugs detest chilly weather a lot. In the fall, they go into hiding, although they come out frequently to sunbathe, which is vital to their health. Western boxelder bugs create chemicals while basking in the sun, and while grooming, they spread those chemicals all over their bodies using their legs. To stop the bacteria on their bodies from doing damage, the chemicals envelop them.