We did a lot of hiking and exploring while we were in the Lost Dutchman area!

We didn’t have to go far to see Wiley Coyote. This coyote was hanging around our campground. We heard a pack of them howling during the nights, but this one was not in a pack and was attacking cats (and maybe Roadrunners). The Camp Host told us the coyotes in that area will try to eat any food left out on the picnic tables even if it’s just for a few minutes.

We also saw a lot of Gamble’s Quail . They are VERY noisy!!! We didn’t get a picture of any because they wouldn’t hold still. They ran in flocks of five or more and were constantly moving.

We saw several Cactus Wrens. Cactus Wrens like to build their nests in Palo Verde trees, Cholla, and Saguaro cacti. The Cactus Wren is Arizona’s State Bird. Cactus Wrens will stand on their nest of twigs and mud chirping loudly to let others know that this tree/cactus is claimed, so they’re hard to miss.

While we were at Tonto National Monument, we saw these snake heads. We don’t know what kinds of snakes they are, but we think one is poisonous and the other one isn’t. Either way, that’s a lot of teeth!

We also saw a Gila Monster replica at Tonto National Monument. The Ranger warned us about how the gila monster is poisonous. We looked all over the place, but we never got to see a real one.

We saw a bunch of these lizards,

big spiders (this one was in the bathroom),

and a White-nosed Coati!  We saw the White-nosed Coati while we were on a drive. I think White-nosed Coati’s look similar to a Red Panda except they have gray short fur. They actually belong to the raccoon family. You can see how long their claws are! They use their tail to help balance and climb. The one in the picture was really curious about us. We stopped and backed up in the car and it just watched us for a while.

We saw a lot of Jackrabbits. They blend in well with their surroundings and are really quiet so you have to look carefully to find them.

There were also bat houses. We never saw bats going in or out of one, but we did see bats in the area.

Those are the animals we saw at this time! Maybe we’ll find more down the road!!!