Animals are a bit of a cunundrum here. If you want to see them, they're no where to be found! And if you have a garden or flowers, they all seem to know about it. They're like little vacume cleaners sweeping the ground free of everything edible each night! But, given a little patience, they're fun to watch. Here's the ones you're most likely to see.
ARIZONA GRAY SQUIRREL (sciurus arizonensis) Mostly gray (gee!), about 21" but has a white tummy. Long tail with a white fringe. Prefers the high-country forests. Eats acorns, juniper berries and seeds. Doesn't appear to plan ahead as he jumps from height to height, sometimes getting stranded and requiring some 'true grit'!
BOBCAT (lynx rufus) You hear about these in residential areas, especially in the Village of Oak Creek. About 3' long, with spotted reddish hair and a short black tail (thus its name!). Rests/hides during the day and hunts at night. There are also periodic reports of
Mountain Lion (felis concolor) sightings near Uptown Sedona, but mainly they stay higher up.
CLIFF CHIPMUNK (tamias dorsalis) Most people say 'chickmunk', having trouble with the 'p'! Usually quite small or 8" and not as common here as up at the Grand Canyon rim. Has stripes on his face and back, with yellowish feet. Can often be heard chattering noisily. Feeds on seeds and berries.
COYOTE (canis latrans) If you're arriving back home in the late evening and you see a 'dog' out, it's probably a coyote. Yellow-gray and a pointed nose. Black-tipped tail. It runs with its head held down. Most interesting is where several get in a fight at night ... you can hear it quite a ways away. "Be quiet out there!!"
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EASTERN COTTONTAIL (sylvilagus floridanus) Grayish-brown rabbit and an obvious white tail. Makes you wonder if it's not to attract preditors! Underside of neck is redish-brown. Mainly eats grasses either in the early morning or late evening. Hides during the day.
JAVELINA (tayassu tajacu) About 3' long and pig-like with dark bristly hair. Most noticable is their hefty head, relative to their body. Each foot has four toes but only two touch the ground. Feeds on cacti, fruit, and small animals. Interestingly, javelina have no trouble eating pickly-pear, spines and all (mainly during dry times)! The name comes from its tusks, most obvious when not a happy-camper. They appear to be a 'recent' addition since there's no remains in native-american ruins in Arizona. Herd-oriented, they travel as a group down in the washes. Javelina enjoy nibbling and nudging each other gently in play. They're generally shy and near-sighted but have a good ability to smell. If one is watching you, more likely he is smelling you! Plus you'll likely smell one before you see him! Javelina-ettes can walk around soon after birth, and usually stay with mom for about a year.
By the way ... have you heard of our
'Javelinas on Parade'? Created by our very talented Sedona artists, they can be found here and there all around Sedona among its businesses. Quite cute and
well done! Plus even a coffee-table book too!
MULE DEER (odocoileus hemionus) Quite hefty animals, especially near your house! Up to 8'. Name derives from their large ears. Also have a black-tipped tail. Feed mainly on shrubs and grasses. Males dump their antlers in the late winter. Up towards Flagstaff at night, deer are often on the highway. Be careful!
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STRIPED SKUNK (mephitis mephitis) What a scientific name! You can't drive up the canyon without passing at least
one dead one on the highway. Black with a thin white stripe on his forehead and two on his back. Best known for his noxious spray which is effective up to 20'. Eats plants, insects and small animals.
MULE DEER This information is drawn from 'Deer of the Southwest' by Jim Heffelfinger (2006) and is an excellent book. Ladies, if your hubby hunts, good gift! Mule deer are primarily concentrated toward New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California; white-tail deer go in the opposite direction toward Texas. Here, it is mixed but mainly mule deer. The most obvious distinguishers are the large ears ('mule deer' ears) vs white tail ('white tail deer'). As a rule of thumb, the mules weigh similar to humans, and are larger than the white-tails. If you've been over in the White Mountains, the ancient native-american Grasshopper site had mainly mule deer, and over 25% of food remains were deer. Stopping hunters from hunting is probably not smart; back in 1906-1924, the government did just that. The population grew so quickly that they proposed running the herds over the edge of the Grand Canyon. Realistically, somewhere in the picture, there has to be a limiter on deer (cats, wolves, humans, etc). (I'm not a hunter!). Deer have two full coats each year, the winter one coming in in Aug/Sept and the summer one in Apr-June. Mules, when surprised do what is called 'shotting' ... all four hooves hit the ground and push. White-tails move their tails. At first, though, they'll stand perfectly still and out-wait you. Their eyes can see 310 degrees, and have good night vision due to a membrane that doubles the reflectivity. They depend on seeing movement (not having good 3D vision). The mule ears move independently and can be directed both forward and backward at the same time. Scents and smelling are their primary defense, and they'll move about to improve sniffing if needed. Deer actually eat little grass, mainly if nothing else. Here the preferred munching is buckwheat, mountain mahogany, desert ceanothus, cliffrose, sagebrush and gambel oak. They love mistletoe for its protein. Their migration is primarily food-based; not snow or temperature. They typically drink once a day in the late evening; almost never during the day. A deer-day: 39% eating, 30% moving, 26% standing, and 6% bedding down. No TV time or chit-chatting with hunters. Generally there's about 6-8 per square mile here, depending on food and time of year. Absent cars, hunters, and other dangers, deer live about 15-20 years.
By the way, if you like mysteries, Tony Hillerman writes really good ones centered around the Navajo Nation. Anyway, if you read 'Dancehall of the Dead' (that's a Zuni kind of 'heaven'), it has some really good tips on tracking mule deer! It says the mule deer don't look 'up', but I could 'swear' that the deer look at us when they walk by our kitchen (which is above the deer).
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COYOTES This information comes from Jacquie Randall with the Humane Society of Sedona. They've built a new animal shelter near the airport and you're certainly welcome to contribute if you like.
If you're visiting Sedona, and hear coyotes, here's what they're saying(!):
- Long single howl: location, trying to find other members of the pack ('I'm over here!')
- Shrieking repetitive back: warning of danger in their territory ('Watch out!')
- Yip-yowl: made a kill ('Yummy time!')
How was the translation achieved?? That's easy. Just asked! By the way, if you enjoy native-american culture, the Navajo connection to coyotes is fascinating.
Some other information ... they really seem to enjoy vocalizing (opera stars). They like smaller animals, and thus the connection to the pets. So, you need to keep an eye on your little ones. Coyotes have been known to grab pets in the presence of their owners (true).
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| Copyright ©, 2008, dmbarnhart
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