Fauna at the Desert Museum

Moving right along from yesterday's post on the Desert Museum. Unfortunately I don't have many animal photos to show. They were rebuilding the cat's habitat so I can't show you any Lions or other cats. Lynne was too tired to make it to the Big Horn Sheep mountain and I was too unsure on my feet to go down to the Otter exhibit. Of course, those are the most photogenic animals, but I will show what I got.

This little guy is my favorite. He is, of course, a Prairie Dog and he isn't a dog at all. He is actually, ahem, a type of rodent. Or a type of Ground Squirrel if you prefer. They got their name because when they emit a warning signal it sounds like a bark. They grow 12-16" and weigh 1-3 lbs. I think this little critter must weigh 3 pounds because they are well fed at the museum. Their diet is all types of veggies and fruit. This chubby guy is a Mexican Prairie Dog.



The second photo shows a Docent holding an Owl. Docents give lectures on the inhabitants of the Sonoran Desert at different parts of the Museum . They also give lectures on the vegetation that grows here. There is nothing in the Museum that is not native to the desert (The Docents and visitors are, of course, the exceptions.)



Next we have another unidentified bunch of Arizona wild flowers. I just thought they were pretty.



And last we have the wily coyote. Our town houses were built next to Pantano Wash. It is usually a dry creek bed until a Monsoon rain makes it a raging river. It was a habitat for small animals including Mr. Coyote. Since there was still some undeveloped land between our buildings and the wash, the small animals remained. However, a developer put in houses and the poor animals had very little land left. Coyotes visited our area frequently before that happened and people didn't dare let their pets out unless they were on a leash. Little kitties and doggies could have been breakfast for the predators. Last summer I saw three emaciated coyotes looking for a rabbit or squirrel. A male walked ahead followed by two females. He walked up to my corner, looked up the street, and not seeing anything to eat sadly turned around and they wandered back to the remaining desert. I am not enamored of coyotes, but I couldn't help feeling sorry for those poor animals.

Arizona Sonora Desert Museum

Saguaro blossoms, Arizona State Flower.

I am continuing with photos taken while I showed Lynne the Tucson attractions. We visited the famed Arizona Sonora Desert Museum and I took many pictures. Here are four of them.

The first one is of a Teddy Bear Cholla (choy-ya).

Perhaps someone can identify the second one. It's a desert flower and looks something like a member of the Lily family.

The third one is looking toward the Tucson Mountains. The
branches in the upper right hand corner are an Ocotillo (ock-oh-tea-yoh) cactus.

The middle of the photo shows our famed Saguaro (sah-war-oh) cactus. It is only found in the
Sonora Desert and Baja, California. The Saguaro blossom is the state flower and you can see them at the top of this post. (I did not take this picture as the Saguaro only blooms in April and May.) The O'odham Indians use the fruit to make jam, jelly and other things. The Saguaro takes up to 75 years to develop an arm. They live more than 150 years and can become 75 feet tall. Some have lived 200 years (Even older than I am.)

ARIZONA SONORA DESERT MUSEUM facts:

The world renowned museum was founded in1952 by William Carr and Arthur Pack. It was one of the first naturalist zoos in the U. S. It is now a zoo, botanical garden and museum. The museum is a lab for research, education, and conservation of the Sonoran Desert.

Over 1/2 million people visit each year.

Tomorrow I will continue with the Museum.