Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument - Animals

Less conspicuous than the plants are the animals of the desert. Many of them, including elf owls, kangaroo rats, most snakes, and jackrabbits, are creatures of the night, They hide in cactus holes, underground burrows, or other cool and shaded spots during the day. Other animals, such as bighorn sheep, most birds, and most lizards, prefer daylight to darkness. But these animals also may seek mid-day shade. They tend to restrict their activity to early morning and late afternoon during the heat of summer when air temperatures can reach 118°F and ground temperatures occasionally soar to a scorching 175°. Coyotes and javelinas are even more adaptable, active at any time of day or night that is not too hot.

To deal with the lack of water to drink, desert animals must have some way to conserve body moisture. The best example of an efficient desert water manager is the kangaroo rat. It ordinarily drinks no water and eats mostly dry food. It gets some moisture from even the driest seeds, and adds this to the water formed in the process of food metabolism. But the kangaroo rat"s survival depends primarily on reducing water loss. Its urine is highly concentrated and its feces are almost completely dry. It even reclaims through its nose much of the water otherwise lost in breathing.