Saguaro National Park - Photos

• Rincon Mountain District: Hope Camp Trail
• Rincon Mountain District: Juniper Basin and Tanque Verde Peak
• Rincon Mountain District: The Cactus Forest and Douglas Spring Trail
• Tucson Mountain Disctrict: Signal Hill + Cactus Wren Loop
• Tucson Mountain District: Bajadas and Foothills Trails
• Tucson Mountain District: Gould Mine Loop
• Tucson Mountain District: Wasson Peak
• Tucson Mountain District: Wild Dog Trail

Saguaro National Park - Wildlife

Although the Sonoran Desert can seem foreboding, it is home to many animal species. These animals have adapted to the desert’s high temperatures and scarce water supply. Many species simply avoid the hot daytime temperatures by being active only at night or by seeking shelter in shaded nests or burrows. Others have features that allow them to stay cool - the jackrabbit’s large ears allow heat to radiate away from its body, and vultures actually urinate on themselves to dissipate heat!

Saguaro National Park contains a great variety of unusual animals, some of which can only be found in southern Arizona. Roadrunners, horned lizards, Gila monsters, kangaroo rats, and collared peccaries are all seen regularly by visitors. Although Saguaro NP lies on the edge of the Sonoran Desert, Mica Mountain in the Rincon Mountain District reaches more then 8600’ in height. This altitude allows for cooler temperatures and pine trees, as well as mammals such as black bears and white-tailed deer. The park is also home to species more commonly associated with the tropics, such as coati. Precious, often hidden desert waters contain aquatic leopard frogs and mud turtles.

MAMMALS OF SAGUARO NATIONAL PARK

Mammalian species are found throughout Saguaro National Park. Mammals are characterized by their fur and the ability to nurse their young with milk from modified sweat glands called mammary glands. Mammals are warm-blooded, or endothermic. Bats, the only flying mammal, are numerous throughout the park, as are bobcats and javelina.

Bobcats of Saguaro

Bobcats, also known as wildcats, are much smaller than mountain lions and easily distinguished by their short tails. These cats do well around the park borders of urban Tucson where food like rabbits and quail are extremely abundant. Despite their relatively small size, reports have cited bobcats preying on animals as large as adult deer.

Total length: 28-49 inches (71-125 cm)

Weight: 15-29 pounds (7-13 kg)

Diet: Small rodents, rabbits, squirrels, birds and carrion

Javelina or Collared Peccary of Saguaro

Javelina, or collared peccaries, have a limited distribution in the U.S. but are common at Saguaro National Park. They live in groups of 4 - 20 individuals led by an aged, experienced female. Javelina have scent glands on their lower backs. Within a herd, javelina often rub against one another, giving each herd a distinctive smell (at least to other javelina). Though similar in appearance, they are not pigs and differ from pigs in both behavior and physiology.

Total length: 35-40 in. (87- 102 cm)

Weight: 40- 65 pounds(18-30 kg)

Diet: Roots, tubers, seeds, mesquite beans, cactus fruit, agave, prickly pear pads, occasional carrion

Mountain Lions of Saguaro

The elusive mountain lion is the most powerful predator at Saguaro National Park. It is found in both districts. They have the ability to kill prey larger than themselves and can leap 20 feet (6.1 m) or more! Their jaws are so strong that they can bite through the shells of adult desert tortoises, something no other predator in the Sonoran Desert can do.

Total length: Up to 6 feet (1.5 m)

Weight: 75- 145 pounds (34 to 66 kg)

Diet: Mule deer, white-tailed deer, javelina, jackrabbits, squirrels

Saguaro National Park - Ecology

Saguaro National Park is located within a desert, but contrary to what you might expect, there is an abundance of life. Plants here are adapted to drought, so during long dry periods they are able to go dormant, conserving their water. At these times, many plants appear lifeless, but shortly after a rainfall these plants are able to come to life sprouting new green leaves. If you like green, you will especially enjoy Saguaro National Park during the rainy seasons. Within just 48 hours after a rainfall, the ocotillo plant is able to change from what appeared to be a handful of dead sticks into a cheerful shrub with tall green branches, covered in new leaves.

Growing at Saguaro National Park, Rincon Mountain District are more than 1,162 species of plants ranging from desert vegetation such as cacti, ocotillo, and creosote in the lower elevations all the way to ponderosa pine, oak, and Douglas-fir in the upper elevations of the Rincon Mountains. The Tucson Mountain District is home to 512 species of plants.

The Rincon Mountain District of Saguaro National Park includes terrain from under 2,500 feet elevation to 8,666 feet elevation. The varied elevation within the park’s boundaries allows for a great variety of different species, found in 6 different plant communities. Saguaro National Park is thought to be home to ten species of Threatened, Endangered, or Sensitive plants. Seventy-eight non-native species of plants have made homes in the Rincon Mountain District in recent years, while 47 non-natives have established themselves in the Tucson Mountain District. The Exotic Plant program, with help from volunteers, maps and removes non-native species from both districts of the park.

CACTI - DESERT SUCCULENTS
Saguaro National Park is home to 25 species of cactus ranging from the towering saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea) to the tiniest type of cactus in the park, the mammillaria (Mammillaria spp).

The most common cactus species at Saguaro National Park and within Tucson, Arizona include:

-saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea)

-fishhook barrel cactus (Ferocactus wislizenii)

-staghorn cholla cactus (Opuntia versicolor)

-pinkflower hedgehog cactus (Echinocereus fendleri var. fasciculatus)

-Engelman’s prickly pear cactus (Opuntia engelmannii)

-teddybear cholla cactus (Opuntia bigelovii)

-chainfruit (jumping) cholla cactus (Opuntia fulgida)

Saguaro National Park - Contact

Saguaro National Park - Directions