Wildlife
Many animals make their homes in Joshua Tree. Birds, lizards, and ground squirrels are most likely to be seen because they are largely active during the day. However, it is at night that desert animals come out to roam. Mostly nocturnal animals include: snakes, bighorn sheep, kangaroo rats, coyotes, and black-tailed jackrabbits.
Animals that thrive in Joshua Tree often have special adaptations for dealing with limited water and high summer temperatures. The smaller mammals and all reptiles take refuge from the heat underground. Desert mammals make more efficient use of their bodies’ water supply than does the human body. Reptiles are physiologically adapted to getting along with little water, and birds can fly to water sources when they need a drink. Nevertheless, the springs and seeps in the park are necessary to the survival of many animals.
Most of the reptiles and many small rodents and insects go into an inactive state of hibernation during the winter. However, winter is the time of greatest bird concentrations in the park, because of the presence of many migrant species.
A good place to view wildlife is at Barker Dam, a short hike from a parking area near Hidden Valley. Desert Bighorn Sheep and Mule Deer sometimes stop by the dam for a drink. Tours of the Barker Dam area are available.
Wildlife of the park includes:
- The California tree frog, Hyla cadaverina, is found in the rocky, permanent water sources created by the Pinto Fault along the northern edge of the park.
- The red-spotted toad, Bufo punctatus, is a true denizen of the desert, where it spends most of its life underground. Found from one end of the park to the other, it appears after good, soaking rains.
- Golden eagles hunt in the park regularly.
- The roadrunner is an easily recognized resident.
- The call of Gambel's Quail can frequently be heard.
- The tarantula Aphonopelma iodium, the green darner Anax junius, and the giant desert scorpion Hadrurus arizonensis are arthropods that can grow to be more than 4 inches (10 cm) long.
- The yucca moth Tegeticula paradoxa is responsible for pollinating the Joshua trees after which the park is named.
Read more about this topic: Joshua Tree National Park
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