Mammals

Featured Species

  • a group of six sheep on a sheer rock cliff
    Desert Bighorn

    Living on the edge is a great survival strategy for avoiding predators!

  • a coyote looks at the camera
    Coyote

    Found across the park, this canine is a master of many habitats.

  • a group of burros in desert scenery
    Invasive Burros

    Learn more about the burros that were introduced by miners and their impact to park springs and wildlife.

 

Mammals Found in Death Valley

 
Small bat with blonde body and brown face and ears held in a biologist's hand
Western pipistrelle bat

NPS Photo

BATS

  • Fringed myotis
    Myotis thysanodes
    Roosts in caves, mines, and buildings;juniper forests and desert shrub.
  • California myotis
    Myotis californicus
    Roosts in caves, mine tunnels and buildings.
  • Small-footed myotis
    Myotis subulatus
    Roosts in caves, mine tunnels and rock crevices.
  • Silver-haired bat
    Lasionycteris noctivagans
    Found around water in forested areas.
  • Western pipistrelle
    Pipistrellus hesperus
    Roosts in rock crevices and caves near watercourses.
  • Western big-eared bat
    Plecotus townsendii
    Found in abandoned mine tunnels and shafts from 3000 to 6000 feet.
  • Hoary bat
    Lasiurus cinereus
    Roosts in trees; found around well watered areas.
  • Pallid bat
    Antrozous pallidus
    Roosts in crevices and caves.
  • Brazilian free-tailed bat
    Tadarida brasiliensis
    Roosts in caves, crevices, and buildings.
 
rat with large eyes and feet on sand
Desert kangaroo rat

NPS photo

SMALL MAMMALS

  • Desert shrew
    Notiosorex crawfordi
    Found in sagebrush; sometimes in masses of vegetation at the base of desert plants.
  • Panamint pocket gopher
    Thomymus umbrinus scapterus
    Panamint and Grapevine Mountains.
  • Pygmy pocket gopher
    Thomymus umbrinus oreocus
    Higher elevations in surrounding mountains;up to 10,000 feet on Telescope Peak.
  • Great basin pocket mouse
    Perognathus parvus
    Grapevine Mountains.
  • Little pocket mouse
    Perognathus longimembris
    Sage habitat at Harrisburg Flat.
  • Long-tailed pocket mouse
    Perognathus formosus mohavensis
    Grapevine Mountains.
  • Desert pocket mouse
    Perognathus penicillatus
    Mesquite Flat.
  • Chisel-toothed kangaroo rat
    Dipodomys microps
    Harrisburg Flat in dry, sandy soil with sparse vegetation.
  • Panamint kangaroo rat
    Dipodomys panamintinus
    Northern Panamint Mountains between 6000 and 7000 feet.
  • Merriam kangaroo rat
    Dipodomys merriami
    Dry, sandy soil on the valley floor.
  • Desert kangaroo rat
    Dipodomys deserti
    Dry locations on valley, especially around mesquite.
  • Western harvest mouse
    Reithrodontomys megalotis
    Well watered areas; Salt Creek, Furnace Creek, Hanaupah Canyon, Wildrose.
  • Cactus mouse
    Peromyscus eremicus
    Higher elevations in Grapevine and Cottonwood Mountains.
  • Deer mouse
    Peromyscus maniculatis
    Valley floor and mountains.
  • Canyon mouse
    Peromyscus crinitus
    Mountains and rocky canyons.
  • Brush mouse
    Peromyscus boylii
    Northern Panamint Mountains.
  • Pinon mouse
    Peromyscus truei
    Rocky areas in pinyon-juniper belt.
  • Southern grasshopper mouse
    Onychomys torridus
    Throughout Death Vally below 5500 feet.
  • Desert woodrat
    Neotoma lepida
    From salt marshes into surrounding mountains.
  • Bushy-tailed woodrat
    Neotoma cinerea
    Pinyon-juniper area of northern Panamint Mountains.
  • House mouse
    Mus musculus
    In and around human dwellings.
 
Small tan squirrel perched on a rock
Whitetail antelope squirrel

NPS photo

SQUIRRELS

  • Panamint chipmunk
    Eutamius panamintinus
    Pinyon-juniper belt of Panamint and Grapevine Mountains.
  • Whitetail antelope squirrel
    Ammospermophilus leucurus
    Mesquite hummocks of valley floor to over 6000 feet in mountains; common along roadsides.
  • California ground squirrel
    Citellus beecheyi
    Hunter Mountain area of Cottonwood Mountains.
  • Roundtail ground squirrel
    Citellus tereticaudus
    Low desert; mesquite thickets near Furnace Creek; common along roadsides.
  • Mojave ground squirrel
    Citellus mohavensis
    Inhabits gentle slopes in Wingate Wash area.
 
cottontail rabbit looking alert
Desert cottontail

NPS / Cookie Ballou

MEDIUM MAMMALS

  • Mountain cottontail
    Sylvilagus nuttalli
    Surrounding mountains.
  • Desert cottontail
    Sylvilagus audobonii
    Mesquite thickets on valley floor.
  • Black-tailed jackrabbit
    Lepus californicus
    Near valley floor and in mountains.
  • Porcupine
    Erethizon dorsatum
    Grapevine, Panamint, and Cottonwood Mountains.
 
spotted cat with ear tufts looking over its shoulder among dessert grasses
Bobcat

NPS photo

CARNIVORES

  • Coyote
    Canis latrans
    From salt flats into mountains; common around mesquite thickets.
  • Kit fox
    Vulpes macrotis arsipus
    Nocturnal; common throughout most of Death Valley; Sand Dunes and Furnace Creek.
  • Gray fox
    Urocyon cinereoargenteus
    East side of Grapevine Mountains.
  • Badger
    Taxidea taxus
    Low desert into mountains; Daylight Pass.
  • Spotted skunk
    Spilogale gracilis
    Mountains surrounding Death Valley.
  • Ringtail
    Bassariscus astutus
    Nocturnal; rocky terrain in arid brush and tree areas.
  • Mountain lion
    Puma concolor
    Surrounding mountains; occasional winter visitors to desert oasis.
  • Bobcat
    Lynx rufus
    From sea level into mountains.
 
Group of grey sheep with large horns on a rocky slope
Desert bighorn sheep

NPS photo

HOOFED MAMMALS

  • Burro
    Equus assinus
    (An introduced species)
    Introduced in the 1880's; Panamint, Cottonwood, and Grapevine Mountains.
  • Horse
    Equus caballus
    (An introduced species)
    Introduced; Hunter Mountain, Cottonwood Basin, Pinto Peak, Grapevine Mountains.
  • Mule deer
    Odocoileus hemionus
    Along eastern and western boundaries of the park in Panamint, Cottonwood, and Grapevine Mountains.
  • Desert bighorn sheep
    Ovis canadensis nelsoni
    Throughout Death Valley at all elevations; inaccessible ridges and canyons, usually near water.

Last updated: January 17, 2021

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Mailing Address:

P.O. Box 579
Death Valley, CA 92328

Phone:

760 786-3200

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