The Zone-tail Ranch is a 320 acre (half of a section; one mile long and half a mile wide) piece of beautiful desert near the crest of the Aquarius Mountains, Arizona, at an elevation of about 5000 feet. It is located east of Kingman (east of US-93) and south of I-40.
The land is rocky canyon country with cliffs, seasonal streams, and perennial springs. The Zone-tail Ranch is just above the level of the cliffs where the land starts to flatten out, and includes one major mountain top and one major canyon. Vegetation is dominated by juniper with some pinyon, oak, cactus, yucca, and a diverse collection of shrubs and annual plants. It is transitional between the pinyon-juniper highland and the Sonoran Desert lowlands. Perennial vegetation probably covers no more than 20% of the ground.
We have a diversity of mammals at the ranch. We have seen javelina and mule deer, but these are hunted and so are shy. We see a lot of javelina sign in certain places, but only a few pigs. In the fall of 1996, we saw a large group of about 15 adult javelina and one juvenile, but in September 1997, we saw a group of six adults and about seven juveniles. I guess it was a good year. We also have lots of rabbits (cottontail and jack rabbits), ground squirrels (rock and antelope), and rats (woodrats, kangaroo rats, deer mice) that provide food for skunks, coyotes, foxes, and probably some cats.
The following is a list of species that might occur in the vicinity of the Zone-tailed Ranch. Species seen are marked with an asterisk (*). If you have an interest in Arizona mammals, send us a note.
Order |
Family |
Subfamily |
Species Name |
Common Name |
Insectivora |
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Soricidae |
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Sorex merriami |
Merriam's shrew |
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Sorex vagrans |
vagrant shrew |
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Notiosorex crawfordi |
desert (gray) shrew |
Chiroptera |
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Phylostomatidae |
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Macrotus waterhousii (californicus) |
california leaf-nosed bat |
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Vespertilionidae |
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Myotis californicus |
california myotis |
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Myotis ciliolabrum (M. subulatus, M. leibii) |
western small-footed myotis |
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Myotis evotis |
long-eared myotis |
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Myotis lucifugus |
little brown myotis |
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Myotis occultus |
arizona myotis |
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Myotis thysanodes |
fringed myotis |
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Myotis volans |
long-legged myotis |
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Myotis velifer |
cave myotis |
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Myotis yumanensis |
yuma myotis |
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Lasiurus blossevillii (L. borealus) |
western red bat |
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Lasiurus cinereus |
hoary bat |
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Lasionycteris noctivagans |
silver-haired bat |
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Pipistrellus hesperus |
western pipistrelle |
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Eptesicus fuscus |
big brown bat |
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Euderma maculatum |
spotted bat |
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Euderma phyllote (Plecotus, Idionycteris) |
allen's big-eared bat |
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Corynorhinus (Plecotus) townsendii |
townsend's big-eared bat |
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Antrozous pallidus |
pallid bat |
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Molossidae |
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Tadarida brasiliensis |
Brazilian free-tailed bat |
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Nyctinomops (Tadarida) femorosaccus |
pocketed free-tailed bat |
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Nyctinomops macrotis (Tadarida molossa) |
big free-tailed bat |
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Eumops perotis |
western mastiff bat |
Lagomorpha |
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Leporidae |
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Sylvilagus audubonii |
* desert cottontail |
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Sylvilagus floridanus |
eastern cottontail |
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Lepus californicus |
* black-tailed jack rabbit |
Rodentia |
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Sciuridae |
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Spermophilus (Citellus) tereticaudus |
round-tailed ground squirrel |
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Spermophilus (Citellus) variegatus |
* rock squirrel |
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Ammospermophilus harrisi |
* yuma antelope squirrel |
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Tamias (Eutamias) dorsalis |
* cliff chipmunk |
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Geomyidae |
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Thomomys bottae |
* valley pocket gopher |
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Heteromyidae |
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Chaetodipus (Perognathus) penicillatus |
desert pocket mouse |
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Chaetodipus (Perognathus) intermedius |
* rock pocket mouse |
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Perognathus amplus |
arizona pocket mouse |
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Perognathus flavus |
silky pocket mouse |
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Dipodomys deserti |
desert kangaroo rat |
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Dipodomys merriami |
* merriam's kangaroo rat |
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Dipodomys ordii |
ord's kangaroo rat |
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Muridae |
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Sigmodontinae |
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Reithrodontomys megalotis |
western harvest mouse |
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Peromyscus boylii |
* brush mouse |
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Peromyscus crinitus |
* canyon mouse |
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Peromyscus eremicus |
* cactus mouse |
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Peromyscus maniculatus |
* deer mouse |
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Peromyscus truei |
* pinyon mouse |
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Onychomys leucogaster |
northern grasshopper mouse |
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Onychomys torridus |
southern grasshopper mouse |
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Sigmodon hispidus |
hispid cotton rat |
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Neotoma lepida |
desert woodrat |
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Neotoma albigula |
* whitethroat woodrat |
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Neotoma stephensi |
* stephens woodrat |
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Arvicolinae |
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Microtus mexicanus |
mexican vole |
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Erethizontidae |
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Ondatra zibethicus |
muskrat |
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Erethizon dorsatum |
common porcupine |
Carnivora |
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Canidae |
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Canis latrans |
coyote |
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Vulpes velox (V. macrotus) |
swift or kit fox |
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Urocyon cinereoargenteus |
* gray fox |
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Procyonidae |
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Bassariscus astutus |
ringtail |
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Procyon lotor |
* raccoon |
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Mustelidae |
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Mustela frenata |
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Lutra canadensis |
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Taxidea taxus |
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Spilogale gracilis (putorius) |
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Mephitis mephitis |
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Conepatus leuconotus |
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Mephitus macroura |
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Felidae |
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Puma (Felis) concolor |
* mountain lion |
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Lynx rufus |
bobcat |
Perissodactyla |
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Equidae |
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Equus caballus |
* wild horse |
Artiodactyla |
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Cervidae |
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Odocoileus hemionus |
* mule deer |
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Antilocapridae |
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Antilocapra americana |
pronghorn |
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Bovidae |
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Ovis canadensis |
desert bighorn sheep |
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Bos taurus |
* domestic cow |
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Tayassuidae |
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Pecari tajacu |
* javelina |
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