Tortoise Eat
Unusual Desert Inhabitants by Judith O’Connor
Nevada is a desert state that’s filled with wildlife. A little incongruous, that. Most people think that deserts are relatively barren, but they are wrong. Yes, you will find lizards and snakes, but also songbirds, game birds; and aspen forests with elk, mule deer, pronghorn antelope; multitudes of fish in the lakes and streams, also water birds: including pelicans, grebes and shorebirds near Stillwater, Ruby Lake, etc. Mountain bluebirds (Nevada’s State Bird), bald eagles, peregrine falcons, goshawks, American white pelicans, quail, burrowing and great horned owls, sand hill cranes and white-faced ibis are some of the many varieties of birds that can be found at various levels from the desert floor to the mountains in the Sierra-Nevada Range.
One bird which is not well known is the phainopepla. The male bird has glossy black feathers and the female, dark gray. Both have a crest on their head, red eyes, a short thin bill and white wing patches which can be seen when they fly. The phainopepla lives in desert, shrubs, fields and woodlands. They especially enjoy areas supporting desert trees bearing mistletoe; typically mesquite, cat claw acacia, and juniper. You can find small groups of these birds during nesting season or huge flocks when abundant mistletoe berries have been located. Phainopepla have a symbiotic relationship with mistletoe. They eat the berries and digest the pulp freeing the seeds which are dispersed widely in their feces.
Another unusual native animal is the mountain beaver. They are chunky gray rodents resembling tailless muskrats. Their fur is dull and course and the furred tail is only about an inch long. They live approximately six years, mostly in moist forest areas with lots of ground vegetation, Mountain beavers burrow underground into an extensive system of shallow tunnels. They live alone (except during mating and raising young.) Although nocturnal animals, they are sometimes active throughout the day. They require cool living areas with water always available. Mountain beavers forage for plants, shrubs and trees on the ground. Grasses and other greens are dried and stored in their tunnels for winter. Succulent vegetation provides water when surface water is unavailable.
One animal more associated with water than a desert is a tortoise, but the desert tortoise is anything but wet. The brown carapace (top of shell) is highly domed and the plastron (bottom) is yellowish in color. The scaly rear legs resemble those of an elephant and the front legs form shovel-like “hands” for digging in the sand. These tortoises live for about thirty years, but their lifespan may extend to eighty years. They live in desert shrub-land between 1,000-4,000 feet in elevation. Desert tortoises spend most of their lives in the ground. They dig shallow burrows during summer as an escape from the heat and have a deeper winter burrow they use again and again each winter. These tortoises can store water within their bladder for months. With their waterproof skin and shell to reduce evaporation they make very effective desert animals. Their diet consists of plants which in the mornings, when they are most active, are covered with dew. At other times the tortoises eat succulents (cactus).
Nevada may be a desert state but that doesn’t make it void of wildlife, and fascinating wildlife at that. Instead of spending all your time in Las Vegas or Reno at the slot machines, walk into a desert full of life.
About the Author
37+ years of experience as a writer, editor, and proofreader. I am currently retired on disability and desire to work on internet sites.
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