Mojave Desert Wildlife

The Mojave Desert is home to more than 1,000 plants and more than 600 animals! They acclimate to extreme climates, both hot and cold, and adapt to survive with very little water - making the quality of the water they use much more important.

To learn more about the interesting animals and plants that live in the Mojave Desert, keep reading!

Meet the Animals

Desert Tortoise - Gopherus agassizii
Can live 80 or more years old! Eats grasses, herbs, cacti and wildflowers.

Coyote – Canis latrans
Skilled hunter that can run at speeds of up to 40 mph. 

Red-Tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis
Powerful Mojave Desert predator with a wingspan of five feet and diving speed that maxes out at 100 mph. Rattlesnakes and rodents have a hard time escaping the talons of this mighty bird.

Barn Owl - Tyto alba
Nocturnal bird with a heart-shaped white face. Don’t be fooled by its sweet appearance – this small predator tears apart its prey and swallows everything including bone!

Cottontail Rabbit - Sylvilagus audonii
High reproductive rate – an adaptive survival quality since cottontails are preyed upon by countless desert species.

Rattlesnake - Crotalus scutulatus
Its rattler is made of keratin – the same thing our fingernails are made of! The Mojave Green is the most venomous snake in the Mojave Desert - If you see one, leave it alone and walk away.

Joshua Tree - Yucca brevifolia
Iconic plant of the Mojave Desert that can grow up to 49 feet tall. Pollinated only by the yucca moth – some say the moth and the tree were made for each other!

Mesquite Tree - Prospopis juliflora
Identifiable by the pods they grow, drought tolerant and use a taproot to draw in groundwater for survival.   

All of these plants and animals rely on clean water to survive – stormwater pollution and a phenomenon called biological magnification can threaten the health and well-being of Mojave Desert wildlife.

Biological What?!
 
Biological magnification a.k.a. biomagnification, affects every level of the ecosystem. It is the process where the concentration of a contaminant increases and becomes more harmful as it gets passed up the food chain.

Still confused? No problem! Let us explain.

Think about the food chain and how each component of an ecosystem relies on another. In many instances the ecosystem of the desert begins at the base level – with groundwater.

Now, think about this cycle and see if you can follow the pollutant…

A desert wildflower relies on groundwater to grow and thrive. Unfortunately, this groundwater has been polluted by a harmful pollutant used in pesticides called DDT.

Then, a cottontail rabbit, being an herbivore, nibbles on that desert wildflower.

If the pollutant is traveling through the food chain, where is it now? If you guessed with the cottontail rabbit, you’re right! Now, let’s continue.

Rattlesnake preys on cottontail rabbit. Red-tailed hawk preys on rattlesnake.

Where is the pollutant now? If you guessed with the red-tailed hawk, you’re right! Now remember, with biomagnification, every time a pollutant is transferred through the food chain, its toxicity increases exponentially.

Thinking about the example provided here, in what plant or animal is the pollutant most toxic?

That’s right! The red-tailed hawk is flying with the highest threat of toxic pollution! This can impact the hawk’s ability to lay eggs that are strong enough to hatch successfully.