Animals of Phoenix

Mexican Wolf

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Rabbits

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Lizard

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Prairie Dog

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Bobcats

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Arizona Coyote

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Arizona Honey Bee

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Remember--not all honey bees are killer bees!

Blonde Tarantula

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The Blonde Tarantula is also known as the Desert Blonde Tarantula, the Mexican Blonde Tarantula, or the Arizona blond tarantula (Aphonopelma chalcodes). It is found in the Sonoran Desert, where Phoenix is located. It's large compared to most tarantulas, measuring between 3 and 4 inches. The Arizona blond tarantula is typically found around saguaros, and are seen most often during our rainy monsoon.

Sunspider

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Sunspiders (or sun spiders) or also called Windscorpions, even though they aren't spiders and aren't scorpions. Sunspiders are arachnids, like the scorpion. Sunspiders are 1 to 3 inches long and are yellow or tan in color. They have no venom, but those pincers are pretty stoing and can hurt! Sun spiders spend most of their time underground and are active beginning in May and through the rainy Arizona monsoon months.

Gila Monster

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A Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of Maricopa County will help you to learn more about and identify snakes that are found in central Arizona.

Spider

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Sun Spider

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Arizona Lizard

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Tucson Butterfly

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A Pair of Javelinas

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Those aren't pigs on this north Scottsdale golf course. They are Collared Peccaries, also known as Javelina. They like to feed on the prickly pear cactus.

Sonoran Collared Lizard

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Desert Spiny Lizard

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Tarantula

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Sonoran Desert Toad

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Horned Toad

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Arizona Giant Centipede

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The Arizona Giant Centipede (Scolopendra heros arizonensis) is venomous, and can grow to up to about 8" long. It is commonly seen in our desert during the summer monsoon.

Horse Lubber Grasshopper

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Tarantula

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Ground Squirrel

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Honey Bee

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Sphinx Moth

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Bee Hive

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Sun Spiders

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Moth at DBG

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Black Bellied Barbados Sheep

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From the photographer: "Here's an animal you don't see wandering the Arizona desert every day. It has the body characteristics of a sheep, but is covered with hair resembling that of a deer rather than wool.It was a real challenge to identify, because as the name implies, its not from around here. This Black Bellied Barbados Sheep has lived behind my house on South Mountain Park for over a year now. It is a domestic species, so this individual must have escaped a nearby farm (further supported by the presence of a tag its' right ear). Apparently, this species is heat tolerant and able to thrive on poor forage. So, it should be able to live a long (albeit lonely) life frolicking in our enormous city park."

Gila Monster

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From the photographer: "We were hiking Go John out in Cave Creek Recreation Area and had an interesting afternoon. Halfway through the hike I noticed the cactus wrens were scolding something profusely, so I slowed and almost immediately spotted a diamond back smack dab on the trail in the coiled position. After 5 minutes I encouraging him to get off the trail and we walked another couple of miles and overtook a Gila monster. We had cell phone camera so I got up close to take his portrait. Cute little guy making his way down the trail walking awkwardly with his webbed feet; he was about 14”. We had to wait for him to exit before we continued."

Prescott Lizard

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Regal Horned Lizard

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From the photographer: "He measured about 5 inches. He was a big guy. I live ... on the back side of the Catalina Mountains backed up to State Park."

Gila Monster

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Desert Tortoise

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Two Tarantulas in New River

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Arizona Coyote

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Arizona Javelina (Collared Peccary)

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Coyote Pups

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Coyotes in Scottsdale

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Tarantula in Scottsdale

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Arizona Blond Tarantula

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From the photographer: "Tarantulas have an interesting defensive capability in addition to venom. Some of the hairs on the top of the abdomen are specialized for defense. These urticating hairs, as they are called, are tipped with backward pointing barbs. If a tarantula is threatened in any way, it brushes these hairs into the face, paw or other body part of its attacker."

Ground Squirrel

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Round-tailed Ground Squirrels at Paradise Valley Community College in Phoenix, AZ (May 3, 2009).

Coyote in Chandler

From the photographer: "I caught some images of a coyote (he/she was hunting a jackrabbit in a vacant lot - I was unable to catch both in a single image - the jackrabbit won this round)....Taken on 06-11-2011 at Chandler Blvd and McClintock in Chandler AZ."

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Squirrel

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Don't ask me where this squirrel finds acorns....

Palo Verde Bug

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These huge bugs are even more intimidating when you realize they can fly!

Chuckwalla in the White Tanks

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White Tank Mountain Regional Park is part of the Maricopa County Parks system. There are about 25 miles of shared-use trails ranging in difficulty from easy to strenuous. Waterfall Trail is a popular easy hike in the area.

Male Chuckwalla in Peoria

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Peoria, Arizona is a city in the northwest part of the Greater Phoenix area. If you live in Peoria, tell us what it is like!

Pale Wind Scorpion

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Sonoran Desert Toad

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Red-spotted Toad

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Desert Tortoise

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Just north of Fountain Hills you'll find a popular hiking and recreation area, McDowell Mountain Regional Park. It is common to find all kinds of desert creatures there while hiking the trails. This photo was taken in October 2011.

Desert Tortoise

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Grasshopper and Friend

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Bobcat in Scottsdale

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Eastern Cottontail

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Rabbits are cute, and there are plenty of them in the Greater Phoenix area. Do you want to discourage rabbits from coming into your yard?

Pale Sun Spider

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Common Lizard

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Black Widow Spider

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The black widow spider is fairly common in the desert of the Phoenix area. You'll want to avoid being bitten by a black widow.

Greater Earless Lizard

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Factoid: According to the National Park Service, the Greater Earless Lizard actually does have ears; they just don't have external openings for the ears.

Monarch Butterfly

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We have two places in the Phoenix area where you can enjoy butterflies, if you don't have them in your own backyard!

• Butterfly Wonderland
• Butterfly Pavilion at Desert Botanical Garden

Javelina Mom and Babies

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From the photographer: "These guys are off the back patio in Carefree by the SkyRanch airport.  They’ll stop by and see what’s on the ground to eat.  We’ll put our salad trimmings out which they scramble to eat. Waste not want not.  We can actually recognize a couple of them to which we have given names."

Gila Monster

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A Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of Maricopa County will help you to learn more about and identify snakes that are found in central Arizona.

Desert Spiny Lizard

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