Animals

The shattered rocks of the Bonito Lava flow provide cover for plants and animals trying to eke out a living here

NPS / L. Carter

The eruption of Sunset Crater Volcano turned its immediate vicinity into an ash-covered wasteland. Decades passed before any vegetation grew again here. Slowly, plant pioneers began to recolonize the land. Bit by bit, they established islands of vegetation in the cinder dunes, providing habitat for a surprising diversity of animal life.

Today, lava tubes and cracks in the lava flows are home to insects, spiders, lizards, and rodents. Bats inhabit some of these spaces, flying out to feed at night. Birds fly overhead, including Steller's jays, pinyon jays, black-chinned hummingbirds, white-breasted nuthatches, ravens and crows, hawks, and occasionally golden eagles.

Almost a thousand years later, this is still a tough place to survive. Vegetation is sparse, and surface water is practically nonexistent. The Bonito lava flow is extremely inhospitable, and animals are rarely seen there. The surrounding pine forests provide habitat for mule deer, elk, pronghorn, bobcats, coyotes, Aberts squirrels, cottontails, and porcupines.

 

Birds

Sunset Crater Volcano is surrounded by ponderosa and pinyon pines, aspens, junipers, open meadows, and barren cinder and lava fields. This variety of landscapes creates numerous home for a surprising array of bird species. The Coconino National Forest has a bird list for the area.

One of the showiest and most common birds in the monument is the Steller's jay, a raucous member of the corvid family. Look for a large, blue bird with a black head, prominent crest, and white eyebrow markings.

 

This Aberts squirrel has become used to getting handouts in the picnic area. This is dangerous to people and unhealthy for the squirrel. Please do not feed any wildlife in national parks and monuments.

NPS/C. Griffing

Mammals

From pronghorns to porcupines, pausing awhile at Sunset Crater Volcano can reveal some of North America's most majestic mammals. Many of these are often seen early in the morning or late in the afternoon, when the sun is low on the horizon.

A stop at the visitor center often reveals one or more Aberts squirrels with tassel-tipped ears, gray fur, and a reddish stripe from nape to tail. Prairie dogs stand sentinel along the road through Bonito Meadow. Chipmunks forage in the grasses near the volcano and lava flow.

The monument's large herbivores include American pronghorn, elk, and mule deer. Rarely seen carnivores include mountain lions, bobcats, and coyotes.

Please do not feed wildlife—interacting with humans is bad for them. Observe all speed limits throughout the scenic loop road to minimize wildlife collisions.

 

A horned lizard on the lava flow

NPS/Rick Ruess

Reptiles

The lava flow and cinder fields of Sunset Crater Volcano are especially difficult habitats for reptiles. The black rocks of the lava flow absorb a lot of heat, and sparse vegetation surrounding the volcano provides little shade for these exothermic or “cold-blooded” animals to regulate their body temperature. Nine species of reptiles have been identified confidently as living within the monument’s boundaries:

• Greater short-horned lizard, Phrynosoma hernandesi
• Plateau lizard, Sceloporus tristichus
• Ornate tree lizard, Urosaurus ornatus
• Many-lined skink, Eumeces multivirgatus
• Plateau striped whiptail, Aspidoscelis velox
• Sonoran mountain kingsnake, Lampropeltis pyromelana
• Striped whipsnake, Masticophis taeniatus
• Gopher snake, Pituophis catenifer
• Hopi rattlesnake, Crotalus viridus nuntius
  

Visitors often notice that lizards on the lava and cinder fields are black. Genetic mutations causing black scales give darker lizards an advantage: lighter lizards are more easily seen by airborne predators like hawks. Over time, predators have removed light-colored lizards from the local gene pool, while darker lizards have survived to pass their traits to the next generation.

 

×

Species Attribute Definitions

Definitions

Occurrence

Occurrence values are defined below. One or more Occurrence Tags may be associated with each Occurrence value.

Present: Species occurs in park; current, reliable evidence available.

Probably Present: High confidence species occurs in park but current, verified evidence needed.

Unconfirmed: Species is attributed to park but evidence is weak or absent.

Not In Park: Species is not known to occur in park.

---

Occurrence Tags

Adjacent: Species is known to occur in areas near to or contiguous with park boundaries.

False Report: Species was reported to occur within the park, but current evidence indicates the report was based on misidentification, a taxonomic concept no longer accepted, or other similar problem of error or interpretation.

Historical: Species' historical occurrence in park is documented. Assigned based on judgment as opposed to determination based on age of the most recent evidence.

---

Abundance

Abundant:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, and counted in relatively large numbers.
• Plants: Large number of individuals; wide ecological amplitude or occurring in habitats covering a large portion of the park.

Common:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, but not in large numbers.
• Plants: Large numbers of individuals predictably occurring in commonly encountered habitats but not those covering a large portion of the park.

Uncommon:

• Animals: Likely to be seen monthly in appropriate habitat and season. May be locally common.
• Plants: Few to moderate numbers of individuals; occurring either sporadically in commonly encountered habitats or in uncommon habitats.

Rare:

• Animals: Present, but usually seen only a few times each year.
• Plants: Few individuals, usually restricted to small areas of rare habitat.

Occasional:

• Animals: Occurs in the park at least once every few years, varying in numbers, but not necessarily every year.
• Plants: Abundance variable from year to year (e.g., desert plants).

Unknown: Abundance unknown

---

Nativeness

Native: Species naturally occurs in park or region.

Non-native: Species occurs on park lands as a result of deliberate or accidental human activities.

Unknown: Nativeness status is unknown or ambiguous.

×

List Differences

The Checklist contains only those species that are designated as "present" or "probably present" in the park.

The Full List includes all the checklist species in addition to species that are unconfirmed, historically detected, or incorrectly reported as being found in the park. The full list also contains species that are "in review" because their status in the park hasn't been fully determined. Additional details about the status of each species is included in the full list.

The checklist will almost always contain fewer species than the full list.

Select a Park:

Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

Select a Species Category (optional):

All Amphibians Birds Fish Mammals Reptiles Vascular Plants

Get Checklist Get Full List List Differences

Species attribute definitions

Search results will be displayed here.

Visit NPSpecies for more comprehensive information and advanced search capability. Have a suggestion or comment on this list? Let us know.