U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Water sources on the Refuge are natural rock basins called "tinajas," a few man-made storage areas, flowing washes after rains, and one intermittent seep. Natural adaptation has enabled species to live for thousands of years with only the available resources.

While the majestic bighorn and rare pronghorn receive a lot of attention, there are more than 40 other species of mammals whose presence is necessary to maintain the ecological balance of the refuge. You will notice that bats, squirrels, mice, rats, and gophers make up the majority of mammal residents on Cabeza. These small creatures play a major part in sustaining the chain of life that includes the larger and better-known residents.

So when you catch a glimpse of any of these shy desert dwellers, you have had a unique opportunity to experience a part of this complex and fragile Sonoran desert ecosystem.

[Bats] [Rabbits and Hares] [Squirrels] [Pocket Gophers] [Pocket Mice] [Kangaroo Rats] [Mice and Rats]
[Doglike and Foxlike Animals] [Raccoons and Relatives] [Weasels and Relatives] [Cats] [Peccaries]
[Deer and Relatives] [Pronghorns] [Sheep and Relatives] [Unverified Species] [Suggested Reading]

The following list includes mammals that have been verified within
Cabeza Prieta NWR boundaries.

*denotes endangered status

Sonoran Pronghorn

William H. Burt & Richard P. Grossenheider, A Field Guide to the Mammals (Peterson Field Guide Series), Houghton Mifflin Co. 1964.

Donald F. Hoffmeister, Mammals of Arizona, University of Arizona Press, 1986.

James A. MacMahon, Deserts (Audubon Society Nature Guide), Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1988.

Gale Monson & Lowell Summer, editors, The Desert Bighorn, University of Arizona Press.

Olaus A. Murie, A Field Guide to Animal Tracks (Peterson Field Guide Series) Houghton Mifflin Co.

USFWS, Endangered and Threatened Species of Arizona, Ecological Services Field Office, Phoenix, AZ., Summer 1991.