Mammals

This cottontail rabbit found a shady spot inside a hollowed petrified wood piece.

NPS/Marge Post

Mammals are a diverse group of animals, ranging from the delicate white-footed mouse to the elegant mule deer. Mammals have fur or hair, produce milk for their offspring, and are warm-blooded.

In the often extreme climate of the plateau country, animals use such survival strategies as hiding in their burrows or migration as well as physiological adaptations, like hollow hairs for insulation or radiation of heat from body parts. Many animals in arid regions are nocturnal or crepuscular, using the cooler night to survive the heat of summer or the darkness of the late hours to escape notice of predators.

 

Pronghorn herd

NPS/Marge Post

Early morning and dusk are the best times to view mammals while in the park. Do not approach, feed, or harass any wildlife in Petrified Forest or any other national park area.

Some of the many species of mammals found in the park
Coyote, Canis latrans
Kit Fox, Vulpes macrotis
Bobcat, Lynx rufus
Mule deer, Odocoileus hemionus
Pronghorn, Antilocapra americana
Badger, Taxidea taxus
Striped skunk, Mephitis mephitis
Black-tailed jackrabbit, Lepus californicus
Desert cottontail, Sylvilagus audubonii
Desert shrew, Notiosorex crawfordi
Pallid bat, Antrozous pallidus
Townsend's big-eared bat, Corynorhinus townsendii (Plecotus townsendii)
California myotis, Myotis californicus
Fringed myotis, Myotis thysanodes
Yuma myotis, Myotis yumanensis
Canyon bat, Parastrellus hesperus
Porcupine, Erethizon dorsatum
Gunnison's prairie dog, Cynomys gunnisoni
White-tailed antelope squirrel, Ammospermophilus leucurus
Spotted ground squirrel, Spermophilus spilosoma
Rock squirrel, Spermophilus variegatus
Botta's pocket gopher, Thomomys bottae
White-throated woodrat, Neotoma albigula
Bushy-tailed woodrat, Neotoma cinerea
Mexican woodrat, Neotoma mexicana
Stephens' woodrat, Neotoma stephensi
Ord’s kangaroo rat, Dipodomys ordii
Silky pocket mouse, Perognathus flavus
Northern grasshopper mouse, Onychomys leucogaster
Brush mouse, Peromyscus boylii
Canyon mouse, Peromyscus crinitis
White-footed mouse, Peromyscus leucopus
Deer mouse, Peromyscus maniculatus
Pinon mouse, Peromyscus truei
Western harvest mouse, Reithrodontomys megalotis
House mouse, Mus musculus