Desert Wildlife

Chuckwalla
Sauromalus obesus is a large, potbellied lizard with a thick tail that grows to 11 to 16 inches long. Though it looks quite formidable, it is purely an herbivore. It is diurnal and will bask in the morning sun until its temperature rises to a comfortable 100 degrees Fahrenheit before it begins searching for food. The chuckwalla is somewhat multicolored. Males have black or deep gray on the head and forelegs, with the trunk and tail a blend of gray-green and red-orange.

Chuckwallas breed in May and June. Females lay a clutch of 5 to 10 eggs in June, July, and August, but only every other year.

For more on the chuckwalla
http://www.desertusa.com/sept96/du_chuckwalla.html

Coyote
The coyote has spread all over North America. In the Southwest Canis latrans (barking dog) is about half the size (about 20 pounds) of its relatives in lusher areas. It also has a paler coat, which absorbs less heat in the desert sun.

The coyote is widely featured in Native American folklore as a wily trickster and is called “song dog” in several native languages. These intelligent animals are highly adaptable and eat nearly anything. In the desert the coyote’s diet will be made up of about 40 percent plant matter, the rest being jackrabbits, cottontails, insects, carrion, or whatever turns up.

Running at up to 40 miles per hour, the coyote is a clever predator that will hunt larger prey (including domestic dogs) in packs. It can travel several hundred miles in a night. They mate for life and stay within a family territory.

For more on the coyote
http://www.desertusa.com/june96/du_cycot.html

Jackrabbit
The Southwest is home to five species of hares of the genus Lepus. Apart from the snowshoe hare, which lives in higher, colder areas, the other four are fairly identical and easily identified by their large ears and long, slender bodies. Two of the more common in Arizona are the black-tailed jackrabbit and the antelope jackrabbit.

Jackrabbits obtain water from cactuses and other more succulent desert plants. They excrete their waste in a very concentrated form. Their large ears, which act as sensation antennae, are about one-fifth their body length and work as a cooling system, helping them dissipate a third of their body heat.

Prodigious breeders, jackrabbits will produce up to seven young per litter—and three litters per year. The young are born nearly ready to run, with open eyes and fully furred. Powerful hind legs enable jackrabbits to leap up to 17 feet and run for a short distance as fast as 40 miles per hour.

For more about the jackrabbit
http://www.desertusa.com/july96/du_rabbi.html

Links to other wildlife

Javelina
http://www.desertusa.com/magnov97/nov_pap/du_collpecc.html

Rattlesnakes
http://www.desertusa.com/may96/du_rattle.html

Tarantula hawk
http://www.desertusa.com/mag01/sep/papr/thawk.html

Mountain lion
http://www.desertusa.com/may96/du_mlion.html

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