Wildlife and Wildflowers

Death Valley National Park has a wide variety of abundant wildlife. Most first-time visitors to the desert probably wouldn't expect this. Snakes and lizards are very common, and I see lizards usually every day while hiking and snakes on average once per trip. Chuckwallas and desert iguanas are always interesting to come across. Bighorn sheep can often be seen together in groups down on canyon fans or up on rocky ledges. Wild burros tend to battle with the sheep for access to precious desert springs, so burros are occasionally rounded up and relocated outside of the park, being that they are not native. There are an abundance of birds, particularly in the higher elevations and inside canyons. Canyon wrens are my favorites out of the birds, and they have often kept me company with their beautiful songs when I have been solo hiking in canyons. Hummingbirds can also be found, as well as ravens (stop by Stovepipe Wells anytime if you'd like to see some ravens). Roadrunners are always fun to come across as you might see them racing across the desert ground or through campgrounds. On one hike, I even encountered an owl which was living in a canyon and managed to get a photograph. Rabbits are a very common sighting, and when driving roads in the park at certain times, you may need to swerve to avoid hitting them as they hop across from one side to the other. Desert tortoises and mountain lions are two of the most difficult wildlife sightings to make in the park. I still have not personally seen either (as of 2013). But I have found countless desert tortoise burrows while hiking in the Owlshead Mountains (which is a very favorable region to find them) and I have found one tortoise carapace in a side canyon of Talc Canyon. As far as mountain lions, I have found definite confirmed mountain lion tracks while hiking down Mill Canyon. I actually carry bear repellant pepper spray with me when on solo hikes as a safeguard against mountain lion attacks. During the right seasons, it is very common to find tarantulas and scorpions if you look in the right place. Mule deer can be found higher up in the mountains, while wild horses can be found in the middle elevation regions of the park. While coyotes are a fairly common sighting, especially around campgrounds, Kit foxes are also plentiful, but they are fast so have your camera ready. Bobcats are a very rare sighting, but they have been encountered even at Furnace Creek. And there are many other animals, birds, and pupfish species found within the park. You can see some of my favorite pictures down below. Many more wildlife photos can be found by browsing through individual reports on the site. Under the wildlife photos, I am also sharing some of my favorite wildflower pictures. But just as with the wildlife photos, many more wildflower photos can be found on individual reports.

Desert tortoises can be found in the Spring and Fall. My friend Scott found this desert tortoise while hiking Sand Canyon in the Owlshead Mountains.

Scorpions can be found by looking under rocks while hiking. We found this fierce looking scorpion near the Anvil Spring Canyon area:

Tarantulas can be seen crossing narrow washes during mating season:

Chuckwallas like to live in between the small cracks and crevices of rocks and canyon walls. This chuckwalla lives along the ridge line between Dante's Peak and Mount Perry:

Bighorn sheep are a very special sighting as they scramble up ledges and cliffsides. We have seen Bighorn Sheep quite a few times. Here we found them on the cliffs above Bighorn Springs (which is just west of the head of Bighorn Gorge):

Wild burros are fun to spot and photograph, but they are not native to the park and compete with Bighorn sheep for precious water sources.

Mule deer enjoy roaming the higher parts of mountain ranges in the park. These mule deer were photographed near Mahogany Flat campground:

Rabbits can be quite a nuisance as they hop across roads and tempt fate. We watched this rabbit for a while when we were camping at Mesquite Springs Campground:

Roadrunners race across the desert flats. This roadrunner played around in a tree at our campground in Furnace Creek:

Kit foxes are very playful and may circle around you from a distance. They are also skittish and may run off when you try to photograph them. This is a Kit Fox which was briefly caught (not by us) and then released back into the wild as we watched:

Ravens are very smart birds and have even been spotted using the water spigots at campgrounds to get a drink by pressing down on the handles. The ravens at Stovepipe Wells are always looking for some hand-outs, but make sure that you don't ever feed them:

Wild horses seem to hang out in the middle elevation regions of the park where they have access to water and more moderate temperatures. We spotted wild horses in the upper reaches of Cottonwood Canyon:

Many pupfish species which are endemic to Death Valley can be found throughout the park in various areas. As you can see here, the pupfish of Salt Creek are absolutely adorable:

Lizards are probably the most common wildlife encountered in the park. This collared lizard was hanging out on a rock in Surprise Canyon:

Desert iguanas try to blend in with the surrounding terrain so that you don't spot them. They are also incredibly fast. But we spotted this one in Anvil Spring Canyon:

In contrast, desert horned lizards are very slow movers and can be picked up carefully:

It's probably a good idea to watch your step and carry a snake-bite kit while hiking in Death Valley. This spotted leaf-nosed snake was basking in the sun in Panamint City:

Packs of coyotes can often be heard howling in the night as you are trying to sleep in your tent. Coyotes will show up in campgrounds looking to scavenge food, which puts them at danger:

Owls are a very rare sighting in Death Valley, but some live high up on canyon walls. We spotted a pair of owls in Marble Canyon (Saline Range) during a hike in July:

This is a butterfly which flew along with us for a while in Indian Pass Canyon. We found an abundance of butterflies there and also on top of Dry Mountain:

A tortoise shell (or carapace) we found in a side canyon of Talc Canyon in the Owlshead Mountains. This was not the way I had hoped to find a desert tortoise in Death Valley for the first time:

I found this tick on my backpack after hiking out of a canyon in the springtime. Ticks are not that common in the park, but they are in Death Valley. It is worth keeping an eye out for them if you are hiking through brush or a woodland habitat:

My newest wildlife picture is from May of 2012, when we found this bat hanging upside down and sleeping inside the Burro Mine way up Jail Canyon. Bats like to use old mining tunnels as their homes:

Also taken in May of 2012, our group found this green frog in Surprise Canyon enjoying the water:

This red-tailed hawk was circling above us while we were at Dart Crash Site in the Owlshead Mountains:

This picture was used on the main page of the site during its first year of operation. Now it is used here to welcome you to twenty of our favorite Death Valley wildflower photos: