Flora & Fauna
Fauna in the Mojave Preserve
In its entirety, the California desert contains no finer
grouping of different
wildlife habitats
than in Mojave National Preserve, both from the standpoint
of total number of species and the total number of animals.
The intermingling of the three desert environments
has produced approximately 35 wildlife habitat
types. The diverse habitats support about 300
species of
wildlife. The literature documents 36
species of
reptiles, 206 species of
birds
and 47 species of
mammals. A few of the most notable
species include the gila monster,
desert tortoise,
Mohave tui chub,
Mojave fringe-toed lizard,
regal ring-necked snake, and desert striped whipsnake.
Significant avian fauna include the
prairie falcon,
Bendire’s thrasher, California thrasher, gray vireo,
golden eagle,
Lucy’s warbler,
mourning dove
and
Gambel’s quail. The
Preserve has one of the more significant
bat faunas
of the California desert. There are
also populations of
rock squirrels in
pinyon-juniper woodland,
a relict population of dusky-footed woodrats,
mule deer, porcupines,
mountain lions, and
desert bighorn sheep.
A large portion of the Preserve is critical desert tortoise
habitat. Some of the highest densities of tortoise
are found in the Ivanpah Valley in the north
end of the Preserve.
source - NPS
also see:
Desert Wildlife
Although at first glance the desert seems to have little in the way of wildlife, it actually contains large, diverse populations. The desert environment may seem an ...
Mojave fringe-toed lizard