Hi there, welcome to my Critters Page!

Every community has critters indigenous to that area. These are the one's found in our neighborhood. Many others inhabit New Mexico, but the one's shown here represent the Southwestern part of NM, and more or less inhabit our back yard.

We had one of these in our barn last year. It was so pretty and the eyes were just so big and bright! We had thought it was a badger but that pretty black and white tail gave it away. It was a fun critter to have about. It rearranged everything! Lived in the rafters during the day and ran around hunting for food at night. It loved the cactus apples. Ours was a little heavier than this guy, probably because he had been eating dry dogfood and had plenty of water in the barn. But it just left one day, don't know why. This Ringtail is often called a "Ringtail Cat", but it is not a cat and may be related to the raccoon family. Very agile, and is the official mammel for the State of Arizona.

Brightly colored little bug. It can cover hill sides and make the entire hill appear red. They really do look soft and velvety, but they don't look like ants. If you hold one, it doesn't bite!

This western Toad hibernates under the ground until it rains. OR, if it lives near an irrigation pond it may emerge sooner. We have them all over our back yard and they are mostly visible at night. None of our neighbors have them? Strange, that! I read where they have lived for over two years under ground in Arizona before coming up. Waiting for a rain. They eat bugs of course and their little faces are so cute, they look animated! Our dogs merely sniff and back off, they must smell bad.

Sandhill Crane-They are around all winter, so they are not migratory in this area, never leaving but flying high to find water and food. 40-48 inches high, they are quite impressive. Since this is a Desert, they look to irrigation sources and ponds. Large flocks are found in abandoned cornfields and grain fields.

Western Diamondback - This is the snake that we deal with.

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Great Horned Owl .18-25 inches tall with a wingspan of 36-60 inches. They abound at night and look very large!

Elk grazing and in natural habitat.

We had a golden eagle rest on the telephone pole in our back yard. It was so large as we are acustomed to seeing hawks. It's talons wrapped around and over the top of the pole. Our little Pom, Mitzi was in the back yard and it was looking at her way too much, so we brought her in. This bird was not intimidated by us.

(Pronghorn Antelope)! Can be seen grazing with cattle or along roadside.

They are striking with their pretty white tails and they are large, about the size of an Elk! These animals can run 60 mph!

.Javelinas live in the rugged base of Floridas and in open range. We saw one on the way to City of Rocks, SP. It was alone, although they live in families. You can tell where they have been by the size of the big chunks taken from the agaves.

Coyote-plentiful!We see them sometimes just walking down the road. I fear that we are all moving into it's natural habitat and it will have to move on out into the chapparel even further. Luckily, it is a survivor. They will mate with dogs and wolves unless the wolf decides it would rather have them for lunch!

.Our State bird. Vicious meateater and fearless. We watch the other bird's nest when this guy is around. He can climb a tall Pine Tree in nothing flat. They are easily tamed, just feed them! The best thing about them: they kill rattlesnakes! Actually, the male is very impressive! The picture on the right shows him resting. He does this in the winter a lot, maybe he is keeping warm by bunching up his feathers.

Tarantulas

We have the colorful and the black Tarantulas!

..Desert Tortoise, Floyd found one of these in our yard, however, our elevation is a little above their natural habitat. They burrow 90% of their lives and therefore are able to tolerate the intense desert heat. This critter does not care for water. It only goes to water to drink or bathe. Like Horned Toads, they are protected.

Horned Toad.....If you frighten a baby, it will jump on mom's back, cute!

New Mexico Lizard and an Iguana - The Iguana is venomous. I only see the larger lizards when I surprise them and the get up on their legs and RUN! And of course we have the little NM Bluestipe which is a pretty little bluestriped lizard - the female gives birth with no assistance from male lizards. There are male bluestrips, but they cannot reproduce. So, this little bluestrip has been "cloning" forever and who knew?

Western Gecko - have to look hard to find these.

.Ravens...Natural predators! Recognize them by their "fantail". Will feed on our protected tortise and horned toads.

.JackWhitetail Jack

The Jack Rabbit is a true Hare. The female bears live young where ever she decides to do so, she doesn't build a nest. The young are born with a full coat of hair and with their eyes wide open. I have observed these Jacks at rest and they have a very pretty tawny colored coat. Very smooth, you just want to touch it. You would think that living wild in the Desert, that their coats would be rough and uneven, but not so.

Typical "bunnyrabbit". These nmyellowheadedblackbirds: Pretty and make a sound like gurgling water!

GAMBEL Quail - they go in family groups, talking all the while. Actually our area has 3 different kinds of mountain quail, but the Gambel is the most impressive. We have a yard full of them at times. Even our bird dog Duke has come to ignore them.

One of these things bit me! Hurt for days! ...........Mountain Lion - don't run!........Bobcat - nearly as loud as the lion. I heard one of these scream outside my window one night and it sent chills down my back. Very scary.

HAWK- Always circling high above looking for a meal! Pretty, but Duke chases them off!

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NM Oryx imported in the 1960s .The big picture below was taken of Oryx roaming the open range between Las Cruces and Deming, NM. They have multiplied up at White Sands to the extent that they have fenced them off.

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And, even closer to home, in our own Florida Mountains, we have IBEX: They have traveled the range south to the Tres Hermanas and beyond. Given to us as a gift by the Shah of Iran in the 1960s.

These Mexican Grey Wolves are being re-introduced to our area! This is their native habitat!

Turkey Vulture "buzzard"!

Cute little owls! They can burrow but we see them during daylight hours, so they stay busy.

Pretty Sharpie Hawk! We have these, they like to sit on fenceposts.

Black Bears have been coming into the City of Rocks S.P. at night as well as Mountain Lions. Be sure to camp in a secure trailer or motorhome or keep a campfire going. NM Black Bears EAT people.