J A C K R A B B I T
SURVIVAL BEGINS ON DAY ONE.
They are hares, born fully furred, eyes wide open
and they hop around just minutes after birth.
A rabbit, by contrast, is born blind, hairless and
helpless.
Jackrabbits have eagles, coyotes and bobcats
for neighbors. Everyone of these predators
rely on these hares as a staple of their diet.
The Jackrabbit hides in the spindly shade
of a desert creosote bush, its camouflaged form
difficult to detect, provided the animal doesn't move.
When seen, burst away full throttle for your life.
Adults can run nearly forty miles
an hour and leap twenty feet in a single bound.
Their eyes are positioned to see nearly 360 degrees
without moving their head. Their huge ears provide
keen hearing as well as serving as a radiator,
releasing the body's excess heat into the
surrounding air.
Their extreme environment requires they eat
their own stools, making double sure their
gut didn't miss some bit of nutrient or drop
of water that might have slipped through
their first go around.
It's a hard life having to snack on fecal pellets
like they are some daily probiotic supplement.
K A N G A R O O R A T
METABOLIZE DRY SEEDS INTO WATER. THEY NEVER DRINK.
Common to deserts of the American Southwest -
Sonora and Mojave. It's relatives are gophers,
not rats. They have fur-lined pouches outside
their cheeks to hold the foraged seeds
they will return to their burrow for storage.
Having the cheek pouches outside the mouth
prevents saliva from contacting these seeds,
causing them to later mold while stored.
Its skull appears almost half the size of its body.
Behind each animal's ear is a large, hollow chamber
that amplifies subtle sounds, like the faint whoosh of
an owl's wings in flight or the near silent glide
of a snake closing in. Keen hearing is the
kangaroo rat's best defense against predators
that make them their primary source of food.
R O A D R U N N E R
CAPABLE OF FLIGHT BUT PREFERS RUNNING.
Twenty miles an hour sustained speed,
twenty-five in a burst. And you don't know
whether it's coming or going, judging by the
tracks it leaves. It has two toes in front and
two in back. The footprint is the same either way.
All members of the cuckoo family share the
same curious feet.
They are known to kill rattlesnakes.
They might even eat it if it is small enough.
Mostly their diet is made up of mice,
lizards, insects, tarantulas and scorpions.
All you can eat.
C O Y O T E
POPULATION EXPANDS DESPITE ADVERSITY.
An animal once limited to prairies and desert
has now stretched its population from coast
to coast, New York City to Los Angeles, and
everything in between - forests and mountains
alike, in spite of efforts by ranchers and others
to eliminate them as pests.
Coyotes eat most anything.
Rabbit if they catch one, deer if it's already dead.
Insects will do. They can live on fruit if need be.
They are highly social animals and use a
number of different barks, howls and yips to
keep track of each other's location and to
maintain social bonds as well as mark
their territory.
S A G U A R O
THEY TAKE FOREVER TO GROW - 10 YEARS TO REACH 3 FEET.
Let's say your parents planted a one inch tall
saguaro cactus in the yard to celebrate your
birth. You would probably be middle-aged
and using reading glasses by the time it had
its first flower bloom. The saguaro would sprout
its first arm when you are over 75 and making
frequent doctor visits. Your grandkids will
celebrate the saguaro reaching its mature
height when they are all old enough to vote.
In Arizona, it is a felony to disturb these plants
in any way, shape or form.
G I L A W O O D P E C K E R
APARTMENT LIVING IN A SAGUARO. KNOCK, KNOCK.
If you are a woodpecker in the Sonora Desert
you settle for a saguaro in place of wood.
They excavate a cavity in a living saguaro
to make its home. It takes months of drying
before the pulp hardens to a leathery case,
and becomes suitable for raising a family.
This woodpecker likes to extract insects from
crevices with its sticky tongue, one that wraps
around its brain when retracted because it is
too long for its bill. Seriously.
Gila woodpeckers like cactus fruit, nectar,
berries and pet food left in a bowl out on
the patio.
* * * * *
OVER EASY
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