Arizona Sonora Desert Museum

Because of the size of files and amount of photos taken I have broken it into two sections, so two separate entries on the blog.

We are not zoo people but were told by many people, to see this, for lack of better words, display.

Screech Owl

Although it is called a museum, it is really part zoo, part museum and part botanical garden. Interpretive displays of living animals and plants strictly native to the Sonoran Desert (encompassing parts of Arizona & California and Mexico) with 21 acres of natural desert settings. One of the most impressive displays are the free flight raptor series.

Prairie Dogs - two types found in Arizona, the black tailed and the Gunnison’s prairie dog (found in Northern Arizona). Historically, the black-tailed prairie dog was the most commonly found in southeastern Arizona. Human-related factors, including poisoning and habitat fragmentation, greatly reduced their numbers range-wide over the last 150 years.  Since 2008 a reintroduction project has been implemented.

Desert Big Horn Sheep - a subspecies of the Norther American Big Horn.  Combined, there are about 25,000 in existence and only about 4,000 Desert Big Horns.   They did not become legal game until 1953 and today about 80-100 hunting licenses are permitted.   Both sexes of Big Horn utilize their horns to break open cactus; the sheep feed on grasses, jojoba, pincushion and saguaro cactus.   The female's horns tend to not curl.

 Gila Monster (pronounced "Hee-Lah") - the only venomous lizard in America.   The only fatality for humans was last reported in 1939.   They are super slow and not aggressive so any human encounters are usually due to people picking them up.   They bite rapidly when within striking distance.  They "hang-on" when biting & will lose teeth when yanked off.   They store fat in their tail so can go extended periods of time without food.  They feed on eggs of other reptiles & birds and spend 95% of their time in burrows so you will rarely see them in the wild. 

Javelinas - a misconception is they are wild pigs ... they actually belong to the peccary family, originating in S. America and live in S. Arizona.  They live in herds of 2 to 20 and are nocturnal.   Occasionally they will come out during the day, usually after a rain or cool temperatures.  They have been found to hang out under RV's and people have seen them on golf courses.   They have poor eyesight - can see up to about 75 yards but very keen sense of smell (smelling over 300 yards).  They are a hazard to newly planted yards as they will dig up the new plants, looking for tubers and will eat entire landscaped areas with cactus.  They are not aggressive, unless provoked OR with young.   They will clack their teeth and charge, rarely biting unless you are very close.  They apparently weigh about 50 lbs but these in the park, look to be at least 100 lbs.  They have two huge canines that grow downwards from the upper jaw - they don't have the huge lower jaw canines that 'boars' tend to have. 

Mexican Wolf - smallest subspecies of the North Amerian Grey Wolf.  They have been on the brink of extinction and through captivity and reintroduction to the wild, they are very slowly coming back from only 50 in existence (as of 2008).  They exist on diet of ungulates (large hoofed animals ... mainly deer).

Tarantulas - they grow about 3-4" in the Sonoran Desert.   They are primarly nocturnal and live in burrows, forming a webbed silk-like ring at the entrance.  When small animals step on the silk, vibrations are transmitted inside to the spider, who rushes out to caputre the prey.  Their biggest pedator is the "tarantula hawk" ... a large black wasp with orange wings.