Desert mammals vary from large animals like the antelope to tiny kangaroo rats. This coatimundi or coati for short is actually a tropical animal that has moved northwards into the canyon country of the US near the Mexican border.
Coatis prowl desert canyons in troops, usually at night. They use their long snounts to search out grubs and roots in the debris on the canyon floor. They also eat nuts, lizards and even scorpions.
Antelope
Several species of antelope live along the semi-arid borders of the African deserts, including these powerful-horned Grant╒s gazelle of the East African plains.
Thompson╒s gazelle live in East African grasslands as well as the arid lands of northern Kenya and southern Sudan. Males have horns up to 17 inches long whereas the females have feeble spikes measuring only 3 to 6 inches.
The two oryx species shown here are true desert antelope, but live in different areas of Africa and Arabia. The pair of gemsbok on the left can be seen in the Kalahari and Namib deserts, while the Arabian oryx became extinct in the wild but has now been re-introduced into its native country.
Beisa oryx live in northeast Africa, including the northern frontier district of Kenya. Like other oryx, they can endure extreme heat and drought conditions, and can obtain water from roots, bulbs and tubers which they dig up from the soil.
Cats
Desert cats are found in several of the world╒s deserts. American species include these bobcat, Felis rufus distributed throughout much of the USA and Mexico. Bobcat prefer rocky or brushy desert terrain, and feed on small mammals like cottontail rabbits.
The mountain lion or cougar Felis concolor is another cat that lives in a variety of habitats in the western USA. This powerful animal feeds on large mammals, but as the amount of game has been reduced, so have the number of mountain lions.
Caracals are African desert cats. Similar to the American lynx, they are found in the arid zones and dry savannas of Africa. Although caracals are only 16 to 20 inches high they are awesome predators and can kill adult antelope and even ostriches.
Sandcats are found from north Africa across to Pakistan. They are similar to European wild cats, but have dense mats of hair on their feet to help them move across dry sand. They eat small mammals, and uncontrolled hunting of sandcats in Pakistan has drastically reduced the population in this area.
Dogs
The kit fox lives in the deserts of the southwestern USA as well as in other areas of the western USA. In the wild, kit foxes aren't usually seen during the daylight hours, but this kit fox is at the Living Desert Park in California.
Mexican wolves are a subspecies of the North American timber wolf. They once lived all over Arizona, New Mexico and the interior mountains of Mexico, but there are now probably less than 50 Mexican wolves left in the wild, and none of these are in the USA. The wolf population was reduced by cattle ranchers, and in 1883 a bounty was placed on all wolves. By 1976 the population had dwindled so far that the Mexican wolf was placed on the endangered species list, and captive breeding programs have been started.
Goats and sheep
These sure-footed desert bighorn sheep are well camouflaged against the desert╒s colors and are usually difficult to spot in the wild. The sheep shown in this movie were filmed at the Living Desert wildlife park in Palm Desert, California.
These bighorn come from the Santa Rosa mountains, where the population has dwindled from 500 to 200 individuals in recent years. Several organizations like the Living Desert are studying how to preserve the bighorn╒s native habitat, and healthy animals bred in the captive herd have already been released back into the wild.
Hares and rabbits
The desert jackrabbit lives across most of the western USA. This animal isn╒t really a rabbit ╨ it is a hare, and its young are borne with open eyes and furry bodies.
Desert jackrabbits usually rest during the day and feed in late afternoon. This rabbit in the Anzo Borrego desert was active at midday, but the film was shot during the winter months when the desert temperature is less than 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
Horses
Grevy╒s zebra has narrow stripes, which distinguish it from other species of the zebra family. This large zebra lives in dry areas on the northern border of Kenya, although it prefers to migrate to areas of higher rainfall in the dry season. Grevy╒s zebra sometimes obtains water by digging holes in the bed of dry streams.
