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Death Valley National Park
Mammals
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Desert Bighorn Sheep prefer rugged mountain slopes to protect themselves from predators. |
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BATS
SMALL MAMMALS
- desert shrew
Notiosorex crawfordi
Found in sagebrush; sometimes in masses of vegetation at the base of desert plants.
- panamint pocket gopher
Thomymus umbrinus scapterus
Panamint and Grapevine Mountains.
- pygmy pocket gopher
Thomymus umbrinus oreocus
Higher elevations in surrounding mountains;up to 10,000 feet on Telescope Peak.
- great basin pocket mouse
Perognathus parvus
Grapevine Mountains.
- little pocket mouse
Perognathus longimembris
Sage habitat at Harrisburg Flat.
- long-tailed pocket mouse
Perognathus formosus mohavensis
Grapevine Mountains.
- desert pocket mouse
Perognathus penicillatus
Mesquite Flat.
- chisel-toothed kangaroo rat
Dipodomys microps
Harrisburg Flat in dry, sandy soil with sparse vegetation.
- panamint kangaroo rat
Dipodomys panamintinus
Northern Panamint Mountains between 6000 and 7000 feet.
- Merriam kangaroo rat
Dipodomys merriami
Dry, sandy soil on the valley floor.
- desert kangaroo rat
Dipodomys deserti
Dry locations on valley, especially around mesquite.
- western harvest mouse
Reithrodontomys megalotis
Well watered areas; Salt Creek, Furnace Creek, Hanaupah Canyon, Wildrose.
- cactus mouse
Peromyscus eremicus
Higher elevations in Grapevine and Cottonwood Mountains.
- deer mouse
Peromyscus maniculatis
Valley floor and mountains.
- canyon mouse
Peromyscus crinitus
Mountains and rocky canyons.
- brush mouse
Peromyscus boylii
Northern Panamint Mountains.
- pinon mouse
Peromyscus truei
Rocky areas in pinyon-juniper belt.
- southern grasshopper mouse
Onychomys torridus
Throughout Death Vally below 5500 feet.
- desert woodrat
Neotoma lepida
From salt marshes into surrounding mountains.
- bushy-tailed woodrat
Neotoma cinerea
Pinyon-juniper area of northern Panamint Mountains.
- house mouse
Mus musculus
In and around human dwellings.
SQUIRRELS
- panamint chipmunk
Eutamius panamintinus
Pinyon-juniper belt of Panamint and Grapevine Mountains.
- whitetail antelope squirrel
Ammospermophilus leucurus
Mesquite hummocks of valley floor to over 6000 feet in mountains; common along roadsides.
- California ground squirrel
Citellus beecheyi
Hunter Mountain area of Cottonwood Mountains.
- roundtail ground squirrel
Citellus tereticaudus
Low desert; mesquite thickets near Furnace Creek; common along roadsides.
- mojave ground squirrel
Citellus mohavensis
Inhabits gentle slopes in Wingate Wash area.
MEDIUM MAMMALS
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mountain cottontail
Sylvilagus nuttalli
Surrounding mountains.
- desert cottontail
Sylvilagus audobonii
Mesquite thickets on valley floor.
- black-tailed jackrabbit
Lepus californicus
Near valley floor and in mountains.
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porcupine
Erethizon dorsatum
Grapevine, Panamint, and Cottonwood Mountains.
CARNIVORES
HOOFED MAMMALS
- burro
Equus assinus
(An introduced species)
Introduced in the 1880's; Panamint, Cottonwood, and Grapevine Mountains.
- horse
Equus caballus
(An introduced species)
Introduced; Hunter Mountain, Cottonwood Basin, Pinto Peak, Grapevine Mountains.
- mule deer
Odocoileus hemionus
Along eastern and western boundaries of the park in Panamint, Cottonwood, and Grapevine Mountains.
- desert bighorn sheep
Ovis canadensis nelsoni
Throughout Death Valley at all elevations; inaccessible ridges and canyons, usually near water.
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Did You Know?
Badwater Basin, in Death Valley National Park, is the lowest place in North America and one of the lowest places in the world at 282 feet below sea level. The Dead Sea, between Israel and Jordon, is the lowest at 1371 feet below sea level.
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Last Updated: November 12, 2008 at 14:04 EST |