Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

 February 22, 2021

Today we visited the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.  Museum is an odd name for this place, it is more like a zoo in a desert setting.  It felt like Chicago Botanical Gardens with animals.  It is 21 acres with 2 miles of walking paths, 230 animal species, 1,200 types of plants - 56,000 individual specimens and they also have a comprehensive regional mineral collection.  Okay here are some photos of our day.

The museum is surrounded by mountains.

A mountain lion watches us as we watch him.

"Mountain lions can be found throughout the mountains of Arizona and Sonora. They are solitary animals which require large hunting ranges covering up to 200 square miles.  The mountain lion is a highly specialized hunter. Its large, forward-facing eyes enable it to locate prey both day and night.  The lion grasps its prey with sharp sickle shaped claws. A short, powerful jaw and long, pointed canine teeth enable it to kill its prey by forcing the neck vertebrae apart and severing the spinal cord.  The mountain lion is primarily a deer hunter. Therefore, the size of a lion population is limited by the number of deer."

The grey wolves were in constant motion.  Mexican Gray Wolves aren't gray! Their fur is a mixture of gray, rust, black, and cream

"The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum received its first Mexican Gray Wolf in 1959, an animal from the Tumacacori, Arizona region. That wolf became the start of one of three lineages of captive Mexican Wolves held in zoos and breeding facilities today. The Museum played a part | in the early breeding program; our role today is to be a holding facility and to educate the public about the Mexican Gray Wolf, its history, and its conservation story."

Here we are, masked as required, under a shade ramada.

Vulture and now some vulture vocabulary:

"A Venue of Vultures: Venue refers to a group of these birds as they rest together in trees.  A Kettle of Vultures: Like steam rising from a kettle of boiling water, this term refers to a group of vultures as they spiral up in flight. A Wake of Vultures: A group of

vultures feeding on a carcass is known as a wake. "

A black tailed rattlesnake.  So far we have not encountered any snakes out in the desert.

A heron, always seen around water.  Water something we are not seeing around here.

A varigated agave.

"Mezcal is a term used for any spirit distilled from agaves,

To make mezcal the central cores of the plants, or agave heads, are harvested with very sharp, circular blades with long handles, then cooked for 3-4 days at low temperatures, mashed, and strained to get the juice, which is then fermented for up to five days, distilled, bottled, and exported worldwide."

Sharkskin Agave

Cactus Wren, the state bird of Arizona, on a branch against the blue sky.

Desert scape.  Very well tended desert here at the museum.

"Here in the desert, rocky habitats are prime real estate.

Massive outcrops are slow to heat up or cool down, so animals may live in and around them to escape extreme temperatures. Crawling under a rock offers instant shelter from the sun or rain, and insects or other small creatures creep deep into crevices to keep from drying out."

These frog were so adorable looking.

A gila monster likes to hide in a shady spot.

Western Diamond-back Rattlesnake this guy was quite active, look at this video:

This one is for the grandsons, enjoy guys.

This javelina was napping when we saw him.

"Sociable. Typical herd size is 10 to 15, but can total up to 50 in a 2 to 3 square mile territory.

lifespan: 8 to 10 years in the wild and up to 21 years in captivity

predators: coyote, jaguar, mountain lion and humans"

Cane Cholla starting to bloom

Ocelot, listed as endangered.  Only one spotted in Arizona in the wild since 2012.

Golden Barrell Cactus

Organ Pipe Cactus

Flowering cactus with bees pollinating it.

Flying Saucer Torch Cactus, it is out of this world.

Sonoran Galloping Cactus

Unnamed cactus but it was blooming so I included it.  I love flowers and in this desert setting the colors really stand out.

Cowboy Whiskers Prickly Pear

The river otter was taking a nap in the hot sun.

But the beaver was really active.

 

Isn't he adorable.

"Desert bighorn live in rough and rocky, low desert mountains. The precipitous mountain ridges provide refuge from coyotes and pumas. Rocky drainages contain rare water catchments in this arid environment. The gradual lower slopes and dry washes furnish the sheep with a sparse forage of jojoba, palo verde and mesquite."

Flowering succulent

Here is a quick hummingbird video

"A Costa's hummingbird may beat its wings up to 80 times a second."

"An Anna's humming bird may need the nectar output of 1000 flowers to get water and the 8-10 calories daily it needs to survive. If you had the same energy needs, you'd have to eat 300 pounds of food and drink 150 gallons of water every day."

Minerals found in the area

you can see more at https://www.desertmuseum.org/visit/cave_2.html

Sporting some Cubby pride in Arizona

"Garden eels have a hard plate on their tail that helps them dig holes.

When they move to a new location, they can dig their new hole in about a second!"

"Seahorses can move their eyes independently. This means they can see in two different directions at the same time!  "

"Prehensile tails help seahorses hold onto sea grass and rocks so they don't get swept away by currents."

"Barberfish often act as cleaner fish, picking crustaceans and ectoparasites off of other fish."

"King Angelfish: Angelfish change color as they get older."

Pufferfish in the center, Convict fish are the striped ones above him."

Mexican Lookdown Jack, he is one shiny fish.

We walked thru the museum for over 4 hours.  Here is our path.

And of course, we had lunch with a view afterwards.

I highly recommend checking out this place if you are in Tucson.