The border roads remain closed (the dirt roads directly along the border and all crossover roads leading from South Puerto Blanco Drive to the border) to all public vehicle and pedestrian traffic for public safety. South Puerto Blanco Drive remains open.
Gachado Line Camp open. Southeast border road and access roads closed
El Camino De Dos Republicas remains open from SR85 to Gachado Line Camp. Dos Lomitas is not accessible. The southeast border road from Lukeville Port of Entry eastward to the Santa Rosa Mountains is closed to public vehicle and pedestrian traffic.
Despite its name and mouse-like appearance, the Kangaroo rat is neither a rat or a mouse. The Kangaroo rat is a member of the heteromyidae family, with its closest relative being the pocket gopher.
Kangaroo rats have long tails and larger hind feet with only four toes. Their eyes are very large, while their ears are incredibly small. Kangaroo Rats are small, weighing up to 4.5 ounces, which is about the weight of granola bar. Their fur is a yellowish-brown with a white belly, while the tail has a noticeable white tip.
Kangaroo rat tend to live in the desert flatlands, creosote flats, and the sandy soils of the desert washes. The rats burrow into the soil to better survive the sometimes harsh desert environment.
Kangaroo rats are mostly seed eaters, eating mostly mesquite beans and grass seeds. Occasionally the Kangaroo rat can be seen eating small insects. Kangaroo rats will forage and collect seeds at night, storing seeds and beans in their cheek pouches. Extra seeds are stored in their burrows where the seeds can absorb up to 30 percent more moisture.
Kangaroo rats live and hide in burrows.
NPS photo
How many different species are there?
There are a handful of kangaroo rat species in the Sonoran Desert. The most commonly encountered one at Organ Pipe Cactus is Merriam’s kangaroo rat. You may notice some smaller kangaroo-rat-like rodents called pocket mice. It’s hard to tell exactly who you’re looking at if you only get a brief glance, but pocket mice are generally the smallest, at about the size of a Brussels sprout. Kangaroo rats are about palm-sized. Packrats, who are not closely related, but found in the same area are fairly large, at about the size of a large orange or small grapefruit.
The different species of kangaroo rats and pocket mice look fairly similar, with silky gray-brown to yellow-brown fur, lighter colored bellies, and long tails with a tuft of hair at the end.
Kangaroo rats have powerful hind legs and a long tail for balance.
NPS Photo
Evolved for the Desert
Kangaroo rats are masters of desert survival. Their bodies adapted to reduce the amount of water needed and the amount of water that is lost.
Although a kangaroo rat's diet is mostly consists of dry seeds, it has almost no need for liquid water. Instead, they survive almost entirely by transforming fats from the seed into water through digestion. Kangaroo rats can extract a half gram of water out of every gram of seeds consumed — thats about one drop of water for every two seeds! Their kidneys concentrate their urine to an almost crystal-like consistency, so that very little water is lost through waste.
Kangaroo rats don't even need water to bathe. Instead of cleaning themselves by licking their fur, they will take a dust bath by rolling around in the sand.
A bobcat with prey. Notice that the prey is a white-throated woodrat.
NPS photo
Agile Rodents of the Desert
Kangaroo rats have adaptations that allow them to detect and escape predators easily.
A kangaroo rat's massive hind legs allow them to leap forward nine feet in one bound, helping them escape fast and sneaky animals. The kangaroo rat's long, rudder-like tail help it maneuver quickly through the brush. When they jump, they can use their tail to change their direction mid-air! This is super helpful when avoiding the lightning-quick strike of snakes.
The kangaroo rat has keen ears to detect the approach of snakes and other predators.Their large, sensitive eyes also allow them to see through dark nights. In the event that these small mammals are snatched up by a predator, there is a decent chance that they have already passed their genes onto the next generation. Their tenacity and quick reproduction help ensure that there are plenty of these little critters around, even if some unlucky ones fall prey.
Cautiously, these animals proceed through the desert, using adaptations to outmaneuver predators and make due with little resources. If you walk along a trail or road at night, you are likely to see some of these rodents scurry or bound across your path.
Sites:Geologic Resources Division, Arches National Park, Bandelier National Monument, Big Bend National Park, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Chaco Culture National Historical Park, City Of Rocks National Reserve, Colorado National Monument, Craters Of The Moon National Monument & Preserve, Curecanti National Recreation Area, Death Valley National Park, Dinosaur National Monument, El Malpais National Monument, Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, Glacier National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Golden Spike National Historical Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, Great Basin National Park, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Joshua Tree National Park, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Lava Beds National Monument, Mesa Verde National Park, Mojave National Preserve, Natural Bridges National Monument, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Petrified Forest National Park, Pipe Spring National Monument, Saguaro National Park, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, Timpanogos Cave National Monument, Walnut Canyon National Monument, Wupatki National Monument, Yellowstone National Parkmore »
In the western United States, packrat middens are one of the best tools for reconstructing recent environments and climates. These accumulations of plant fragments, small vertebrate remains, rodent droppings, and other fossils can be preserved for more than 50,000 years. Packrat middens have been found in at least 41 National Park Service units.
In 2002, when bobcats in Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area began dying of mange, a disease that is typically considered benign, biologists began investigating. They found that 100% of the bobcats that died of the disease also had rat poisons known as anticoagulant rodenticides in their systems. Now, two researchers are closing in on an explanation.
Sites:Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Chiricahua National Monument, Coronado National Memorial, Fort Bowie National Historic Site, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Montezuma Castle National Monument, Navajo National Monument, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Petrified Forest National Park, Pipe Spring National Monument, Saguaro National Park, Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, Tonto National Monument, Tumacácori National Historical Park, Tuzigoot National Monument, Walnut Canyon National Monument, Wupatki National Monumentmore »
Research at Organ Pipe Cactus has seen large monsoons, drought, and the Sonoran Desert’s impact on different species of toad. The aim of this research is to understand which species are present, as well as the geographical reach of the chytrid fungus.
Sites:Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, Chiricahua National Monument, Coronado National Memorial, Fort Bowie National Historic Site, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Montezuma Castle National Monument, Navajo National Monument, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Petrified Forest National Park, Pipe Spring National Monument, Saguaro National Park, Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, Tonto National Monument, Tumacácori National Historical Park, Tuzigoot National Monument, Walnut Canyon National Monument, Wupatki National Monumentmore »
Lesser long-nosed bats have been in scientific focus since the late 1900's. These unique animals face different obstacles in their changing environment, but researchers are at work in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, learning more about these bats. Through research here and throughout Central America, scientists are understanding better how to protect these animals and their environment.
Sites:Coronado National Memorial, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Saguaro National Park
Get batty over Lesser Long-nose bats! With tongues as long as their bodies, lesser long-nosed bats (Leptonycteris yerbabuena) are unsung heroes in maintaining fragile desert ecosystems.
