Arizona Sonora Desert Museum Trip, 11/02

This 'museum' is actually one of the United States' top zoos, and it contains all sorts of animals found in the Sonora desert, which stretches from the SE USA into Mexico.   It's about 12 miles west of Tucson on a road that winds up into the mountains and curves at 15 mph over a gorge.  If you go in the middle of the summer, it'll be 110 degrees out, the animals will be sleeping and you'll be sweating!  So, we went in November - it was about 65-70 degrees out, and the animals were in a festive mood.

I took these shots of a gila monster and a snake in the same cage, they were climbing all over each other and posing for pictures.

As close as I'd ever like to get to a mountain lion... The museum also has all sorts of large cats on display including the lynx and the bobcat.

These show up in my backyard from time to time, usually if there are deer or rabbits in the area...wolves!

The cuties of the desert...prairie dogs!  They let you get close enough to reach over and scoop one up (if you had really long arms)

No it's not a fox...hey, by the way, what do you think of me using the name "Desert Fox" on my web site?  'The Desert Oasis...Home of the Desert Fox'...I like it!  Anyway, this is a coati.  He was ripping apart some sort of meat concoction when we passed by.

These guys DID show up in my front yard, about 2 months ago, to feast on my neighbors' trash cans.... Javelina. 

These were GREAT shots...a coyote decided to hop up on Pride Rock over there to get a view of the desert... these creatures are so plentiful that they've made their way up into the Northeast USA!

I know what you're thinking...otters in the desert?  There are plenty of streams and wet riverbeds in Arizona, and the river otter makes its home in parts of the Sonoran Desert.  The Museum also has black bears (Mount Lemmon), beavers, and fish on display.

Bighorns are all over the desert...I usually get the more common plain ol' deer variety in my yard, once the cooler time of year arrives (October). 

The main aviary features all sorts of small birds - I won't pretend to know what the first bird here is, other than that it's yellow :).  The second is definitely a cardinal, though it wasn't quite as bright a red color as you usually see that bird in its wild habitat.  The hummingbirds have their own aviary.

The scariest animal of them all!
He's faking :)   I think!