Monty and I have lived in what I affectionately call the ‘toe hills’ of the Santa Catalina Mountains for about twenty-five years. The foothills you hear about, the high rent district, is located to the north and west of us. The higher views overlooking the city might have drawn our neighbors to their homes, but we love our home snuggled next to the wildlife corridor.
Over the years we have had a parade of wildlife through our yard that would make Marlin Perkins happy. Although we are a mere mile from Whole Foods and the library, our house backs up to a lovely arroyo, coursing down from the Catalina Mountains heading to the Rillito River. Arroyo is a Spanish word that translates to watercourse, in Southern Arizona that means a sandy wash that might run with water once or twice a year. The rest of the time the wildlife use the arroyo as a super highway to travel through the desert.
One of our unforgettable wildlife episodes happened not long after we got settled in our desert home. We looked out the window and saw a bobcat sauntering through the desert just outside our patio wall. Of course we went outside to get a better look. Having just moved from a congested town home area we were excited to watch the bobcat stealthy moving through the cactus, creosote, and mesquite. He stopped at a small tree and we heard the distinctive sound of a rattlesnake. Apparently the snake was letting the bobcat know this shade tree was already claimed. The bobcat circled the tree and pawed at the snake. The snake held his ground and rattled with more enthusiasm. We watched the bobcat taunt the snake for more than ten minutes before he lost interest and wandered on toward the arroyo. Hmmm, did anyone see which direction the snake went after he defended his tree?
Four of the windows in our home sit only about eighteen inches from the floor and reach the ceiling with graceful adobe arches. Since the windows are so low we are often distracted by wildlife walking by. I remember the herd
mom javalina and her red
of javelinas that came strolling by a few years ago. The moms led the herd with their little ones, called reds, following close beside them. They sampled the prickly pear cactus, as they moseyed through the yard. The big bore bringing up the rear looked like a no nonsense kind of guy
Javelinas are sometimes confused with feral pigs but they are not pigs at all but members of the peccary family. About the size of a medium size dog, javelina have long snouts and a flat pink nose with large nostrils. (the nose does resemble a barnyard pig). Their heads are narrow, their bodies are covered with coarse gray/black hair. Their legs are kind of short and really skinny and they have tiny little feet. To add to that they are really stinky. Truly an animal built by a committee in controversy.
On another occasion we were out in the garage with the door up and several javelina wandered in to check out what we had on the shelves. Javelinas don’t see very well so I’m not sure if they even knew we were in the garage. They have a good sense smell but poor eye sight. You can usually tell when Javelinas have been through the area. They have small hoof -like tracks and leave behind a strong essence of musk.
Because Javelina don’t see well they are sometimes threatened by people walking a dog. They have been known to attack dogs and a few people have been bitten while trying to save their dogs. At first glimpse of javelina the smart dog walker immediately turns and heads the other way. Javelina get a bad rap because they are crafty garbage thieves. They display ingenious team work when one stands against the garbage can while some of the others in the herd use him as leverage and knock the can over. Of course they spread the garbage all over so the neighbors aren’t happy.
Just last week, Miss Daisy was putting up a ruckus in the yard, barking at the gate and running back and forth between the gate and the back door. I went out to check what was going on and there was a big pink nose poking through the wrought iron gate. The javelina seemed curious but not fearful about Daisy running around barking. His wife was standing back watching everything. I did the usual thing people do when confronted by a wild animal, I hollered.’ Shooo’ in my most authoritative voice. I can verify javelinas are not bothered by a little old lady hollering ‘Shoo’.
There has been a young bobcat hanging around the area. I looked out one morning and she was laying on our
Bobcat on our neighbors wall, thanks Doug Kreutz
courtyard wall by the front window. Just catching a little morning sun I guess. One day she jumped over the patio wall in the back yard to discover Daisy standing on the patio. Her feet hardly hit the ground before she was back over the wall. You’d thought she was on a trampoline. I’m afraid Daisy wouldn’t fare too well against a bobcat, although she is a bit bigger than this one, I’m sure the cat’s claws are vicious.
A few days later I saw the bobcat and a javelinas playing ring around the creosote bush. It was really funny to watch the bobcat slinking around one side and the javalina slowly walking around the other. The bobcat crouched low and waited until the javelina got tired of playing and moved on his way.
One evening several years ago I was surprised to look out the living room window and see two deer walking down the arroyo. The female was small, the male was larger and had nice antlers. They walked beside our house and came to the front door. The male looked like he was checking if he should knock or ring the bell. After a few minutes they wandered on their way.
We’ve covered bobcats, javalina and deer we have in the ‘hood’. Someday I’ll tell you about Wile E. Coyote, he deserves a post of his own. Snake tales are always fun and we’ve had many of those also.
We love living in the Wild Kingdom, these critters were here first, I’m just glad they let us share the space.
This makes me smile
Never knew the little ones were called reds. Learning from your posts.