Articles for tag: Arizona wildlife, bird ecology, desert adaptation, desert birds, environmental adaptation, Hummingbirds, Ornithology, Pollinators, Southwest nature, wildlife resilience

Heat Dissipation Through Flight Engineering

Arizona’s Hummingbirds Defy the Desert

Jan Otte

Picture this: it’s 115 degrees Fahrenheit in the Arizona , the sun is beating down mercilessly, and most animals have sought shelter in whatever shade they can find. Yet overhead, tiny jewel-like birds are zipping through the scorching air at breakneck speeds, their wings beating up to 80 times per second. These are Arizona’s hummingbirds, ...

a small animal in the woods

The Wild Cats Still Roaming the Arizona Desert

Suhail Ahmed

The Sonoran Desert looks empty at noon, all shimmer and silence, yet as dusk falls its sand turns into a moving script of paw prints. For years, the question has lingered: which wild cats still share this fierce landscape with growing cities and busier roads? A wave of new fieldwork is pulling back the veil, ...

A skunk. Photo by Jack Bumer, via Pexels.

Arizona’s Rabies Spike: Protecting Pets and Wildlife

April Joy Jovita

Arizona is experiencing a concerning rise in rabies cases among wildlife, prompting officials to issue warnings to pet owners and the public. The Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) and the Department of Health Services have reported a significant increase in rabies incidents, emphasizing the importance of vaccinations and preventive measures to safeguard both pets ...