National Park Service White Sands Department of the Interior White Sands National Monument Common Tracks and Scat Found at White Sands

ild are shy and try to avoid us. Most animals in the desert are Wnocturnal. During the day you can see evidence of these animals from the tracks they leave behind in the sand. Tracks, which tell the stories of night activity in the dunes, are awaiting your discovery! If you do encounter an , make sure you respect its space and do not try to feed it. The images and tracks below are not to scale, but they will help you identify animal signs you might find in the dunefield.

The length of the buck caterpillar on a cottonwood tree, which is their can vary from one to four inches. In the preferred food source. Once they monument, spring is the best time to see cocoon, they turn into the buck them because that is when they hatch. moth, which is black, white, and red in The best place to find this caterpillar is coloration.

Nevada Caterpillar tracks nevadensis

The darkling , also known as the spray, which smells like kerosene. Being stinkbug, can be found anywhere in dark in color, the beetle is very easy the monument and is most prevalent in to spot on the white sand. The dark the summer months. The length of the color of the body acts as a sunscreen, beetle can be over one inch. The name protecting the beetle from the stinkbug comes from their defensive damaging rays of the sun. Darkling Beetle Eleodes obcurus sulcipennis tracks

The bleached earless can range lizard enjoys eating , , and in length from four to six inches, with small plants that are abundant at White a width of half an inch. Lizard tracks Sands. The white coloration of the can be distinguished from others by the lizard is an to camouflage tail track between the footprints. This with the white sand.

Bleached Earless Lizard Holbrookia maculata ruthveni or Lesser Earless Lizard tracks

The horned lark’s height is around in a line. The length of one print can be seven inches. Their preferred foods are up to one and a half inches. The lark is seeds and insects. While a year-round a ground nester. The name horned lark resident in the monument, they are most refers to feather tufts at the top of the prevalent when wildflowers are in bloom. head, which look like two horns. The horned lark prefers to run rather than hop, so its tracks are continuous and Horned Lark Eromophila alpestris

tracks

To learn more about White Sands, visit http://www.nps.gov/whsa The greater can get up to back toes in addition to the 23 inches tall and run up to 18 mph. two front ones. The length of one The roadrunner likes to eat and print is three inches. Look for but will also eat and near the visitor center spiders. Its tracks are always in the shape where there is a lot of vegetation. of an X because the roadrunner has two Geococcyx californianus tracks

Fur-lined inner cheek pouches earned efficient use of water. The total length the Apache pocket mouse its name. of a pocket mouse varies from four to Their diet consists of seeds found in the seven inches with a tail length from two interdunal areas, and they never drink to three inches. The length of their back water. They get all the water they need feet is about one and a half inches with from the seeds they eat. Their scat is rice their front foot being much smaller. shaped and crystal-like because of their Apache Pocket Mouse Perognathus flavescens Apachii scat tracks

The kangaroo rat gets its name because The total length of the kangaroo rat of its large hind legs. If scared, it can is about 13 inches with a tail length of jump up to 10 feet high. Just like the eight inches. The tracks are very similar Apache pocket mouse, they get all the to the Apache pocket mouse in size, but water they need from the seeds they eat, the kangaroo rat will rest its tail when so the scat is the same shape and texture. still, leaving a tail imprint. Kangaroo Rat Dipodomys spectabilis scat tracks

Having a white fluffy tail, the cottontail no bigger than a domesticated rabbit. is aptly named. Their diet is strictly Their front foot track can be one to vegetarian. They only eat grasses, fruits, one and a half inches long and the back and leaves. The scat is round and about foot can be three to three and a half half an inch long. At 15 inches tall with a inches long. Cottontails, like many other tail length of about two inches and ears , can only be seen in the highly up to three inches long, the cottontail is vegetated areas of the park. Desert Cottontail Sylvilagus audobonii

scat tracks

The kit fox can be up to 30 inches of a kit fox are very hard to distinguish long. Average weight is three to six from dog tracks in the monument. The pounds, similar to a . Their length of one footprint is one to one diet consists of kangaroo rats, desert and a half inches. A good distinguishing cottontails, and Apache pocket mice. mark is that there will be claw marks Their scat can have fur in it, which will with the print of a kit fox. leave it pointed on the ends. The tracks Kit Fox Vulpes macrotis

scat tracks

A coyote’s diet can range from garbage The length of the back footprint can to big game animals like elk and deer. range from two and a half to three Their scat is pointed at the ends just inches, with the front foot being slightly like the kit fox because they consume smaller. They live in the edges of the animals with fur. The scat can also have monument and eat smaller mammals seeds. The coyote can range in size from like the Apache pocket mouse and 15 to 45 pounds. The tracks of a coyote kangaroo rat. Coyote are difficult to tell apart from dog tracks. Canis latrans

scat tracks

Revised 06/25/2015