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Home , Bassariscus, Chipmunk, Hooded skunk, Nasua, Otospermophilus, Striped Skunk

Identifying Similar Looking on Wildlife Cameras Sky Island Alliance Meagan Bethel Spring 2021 V. 1 Table of Contents

1. General Advice 2. Jackrabbits 3. Deer 4. Canines 5. Felines 6. The 4 7. 8. Procyonids 9. Opossum 10. Turkey vs Turkey Vulture General Advice

• Use surrounding landscape for scale • Compare ’s size to near by trees and rocks • Get familiar with local wildlife • Some species might not even be in your area. Look at: • Range maps • Elevation • Vegetation type • Go with your best educated guess if you don’t know! • This is a skill that takes practice Jackrabbits

Antelope jackrabbit Black-tailed jackrabbit • White rimmed ears • Black tipped ears • White/silver sides • Brownish colored • Short tail overall • Longer tail

Meagan’s opinion: Antelope jackrabbits have a blockier body and head shape than black-tails Best ID feature: Ears Antelope jackrabbit (Lepus alleni)

White rimmed ears White rimmed ears

Short tail

Silver sides

EliSP Black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus)

Camera can wash out color and look white. Use other ID clues to help

Long tail

Black tipped ears

Longer tail

Sides are brown

Jane Dixon Jane Dixon Jane Dixon Antelope jackrabbit Comparison Black-tailed jackrabbit

Long black tail, brown sides

White sides

White rimmed ears

Black tipped ears

EliSP Deer Mule deer White-tailed deer aka Coues Deer • Usually at lower elevations • Usually at higher elevations • Black tipped tail • Fluffy white underside of • Larger ears tail • Dark forehead/eyebrows • White band on nose • Male antler’s points come • Long metatarsal gland from a single main beam • Male antler’s points fork like a tree • Short metatarsal gland

Meagan’s opinion: Don’t rely on ear size alone! Both have large looking ears to help regulate heat. Best ID feature: Tail Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus)

Black tipped tail “rope-like” White rump

Antlers fork as they grow Tan/orange legs

Large ears

Long metatarsal gland

Dark eyebrows

Jim Rorabaugh CR Schulz White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) Cholla Nicoll Borderlands Restoration Network

Fluffy white underside of tail

Antler tines come off main beam

White band on nose

Short metatarsal gland

Cholla Nicoll Borderlands Restoration Network Where the heck is the metatarsal gland? A on the outside of the hind legs

Mule deer: longer, higher up

White-tailed deer: Small, lower on leg

The legs are not always clear or in the shot, use other clues first like the tail Mule deer Comparison: Bucks White-tailed deer Mule deer Comparison: Does White-tailed deer Mule deer Comparison: Mug shots White-tailed deer Canines

Coyote • Large body • Small • Long legs • Short legs • Body high off ground • Body lower to ground • Large ears • Very long tail • like ( latrans)

Tail doesn’t reach the ground

PJ Cicero

Big ears

Long legs Gray ( cinereoargenteus)

Small delicate head Gray and orange coat

Black tail stripe

Orange and white sides

Black tail stripe

Body low to ground

Jim Rorabaugh Foxes

Gray fox • More common • Less common • Greater territorial range • Found in deserts • Larger • Smaller • Gray, white, and orange • Sandy gray and orange colored colored • Black tipped tail WITH • Black tipped tail black stripe along top

Meagan’s opinion: In the Sky Island region, gray foxes are much more common, but always check for a tail stripe! Best ID feature: Tail Comparison Kit fox

Black tail stripe

No tail stripe

Wildlands Network Common felines

Mountain • Very large • Smaller • Long tail • Short tail • Solid tan/orange with white • Brownish gray, may have undersides spots • Round ears • Dark stripes on inside of • Longer back legs than front legs gives them distinctive • Large pointed ears silhouette

Meagan’s opinion: Mountain have small heads compared to their bodies Mountain lion ( concolor) Round ears Long tail

Solid tan and white color Small head compared to body

Long distinctive body shape, Bobcat ( rufus)

Pointed ears Short tail

Dark forearm bars

No long tail visible

Cheek fur

Long legs 4 skunk species

• • • Hog-nosed skunk • • 3 look similar • Hooded, striped, and hog-nosed • 2 look very different once you know what to look for • Spotted and hog-nosed • 2 require practice and experience • Striped and hooded

Hooded skunk Striped skunk • White face stripe • White face stripe • Tail much longer than body • Tail shorter than body • ~2/3 of body • Longer shaggier fur • Fur makes it look about body length • Coat patterns highly variable • Body looks larger because of shorter tail • May appear like the striped but • Some variations in coat patterns the white doesn’t meet at the • Always have a black stripe at the base of top of the back but continues the back and tail bisecting the white along side • White looks like a Y • The white stripes always meet above the neck/shoulders

Meagan’s opinion: Use tail length and LOOK FOR THAT BLACK STRIPE ON THE BACK! Striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis)

Tail roughly body length

White always meets Hanby/Bygott above shoulders forming a ‘Y’ or ‘V’ Cholla Nicoll AZ TNC Black stripe on back Can be very faint

White stripe on face Hooded skunk (Mephitis macroura)

Can have black back and tail, but the white does not meet above the shoulders. No ‘Y’ Long tail

White face stripe

Fur patterns can vary greatly

Hooded skunk, not a caterpillar

White on neck and head extends past ears, like a hood! Jim Rorabaugh Striped skunk Comparison: Mephitis Hooded skunk

Black back stripe Very long tail!

White meets above shoulders White continues along the sides Spotted and Hog-nosed

Western spotted skunk Hog-nosed skunk • Much smaller than other • Large bare nose like a pig • Stocky body and legs • Often a blur on camera • Powerful digging claws • Distinctive marbled coat • Shorter, all white tail • Large white spot between • Entire back and top of head the eyes between the ears is white • Shorter tail, fan-like instead • The white on the head looks of a bottlebrush like a cap or hat (Spilogale gracilis)

Short, fan-like tail

Distinctive marbled coat

Spot on face instead of stripe

Jim Rorabaugh

Often appears as bounding blurs!

Much smaller than the other three skunk species Hog-nosed skunk (Conepatus leuconotus) Coronado National Memorial Tail shorter than body

ALL WHITE TAIL

White on neck and head extends stays between the ears, like a cap

Shorter body fur makes the line between white and black cleaner

Large bare nose

Stockier body shape Jim Rorabaugh Mephitis vs Conepatus

Striped skunk and Hooded skunk- white backed variation Hog-nosed skunk • White face stripe • NO face stripe! • Leaner body and thinner legs • Large bare nose like a pig • Longer tails with black mixed • Large stocky body and legs in • Tail short and all white • Longer fur on body • Shorter fur on body, clean line • Hooded skunks: White between white and black extends past ears like a hood • White stays between ears like a cap

Meagan’s opinion: Use body shape, hog-noses look like mini honey Mephitis skunks Comparison Hog-nosed skunk

Black tail of a All white tail striped skunk

Tail longer Tail shorter than body of than body hooded skunk Squirrels – Tree squirrels

Abert’s gray squirrel • Found in pine and • Found in oak woodlands higher elevations and riparian areas • Slate gray color • Grayish brown • Rust red fur on back • Underside of tail looks • Silver lined tail reddish orange • Almost always have • Ears lack ear tufts distinctive tufted ears • Neck fur may be orange behind ears Abert’s squirrel Comparison Arizona gray squirrel

Silver tail No tufts

Tufted ears

Brownish gray body

Rust colored only on back

Tail has more color in it

SDMSTEADTAZ Common camera squirrels Arizona gray squirrel • Gray-brown overall, • Salt and pepper coat, multicolored • May have orange patches hair makes coat looked flecked • Coat pattern not as complicated as a • Back half often an orange brown rock squirrel’s color • White undersides • Tail often held lower to ground • Tail long and fluffy with silver and • It’s a ground dwelling squirrel and its brown fur behavior often shows this • • It’s a , it looks like it’s Staying close to ground made to jump through trees • Perching on rocks • Long legs and tail • Adaptable and found in a lot of • Agile, active posture environments • Deserts, canyons, rocky pine forests, • They forage on the ground but live-in urban landscapes trees. • Found mainly in oak and sycamore canyons • Mostly in the mountains

Meagan’s opinion: First consider the environment, gray squirrels are far more limited. Then look for the salt and pepper coloration, and orange rump of the rock squirrels Rock squirrel ( varigatus)

Much more common is a variety of vegetation types (deserts to pine trees)

Salt and pepper coat and tail

Back half often a brown-orange

Bushy tail has flecked black and white pattern too

Body and tail often held low to ground Likes to perch on rocks, aptly named Arizona gray squirrel (Sciurus arizonensis)

Found mostly in the oak woodlands and riparian canyons

Coat gray overall

Fluffy, silver and brown tail

Tail often held high

White undersides Long legs for jumping Ground squirrels Round-tailed Harris’s • Simple tan and white fur • Striped body • Long skinny black tipped tail • Brown, orange, and white • One white stripe along sides • Social and live-in colonies in a large • Tail fluffy and held above body • The tail acts as an umbrella • Not a prairie ! from the sun! • But they do look like mini versions of them • More solitary • Not a ! • are found at higher elevations and have more stripes

Meagan’s opinion: Both are similar size and are active at the hottest part of the day, but have very different appearances and behaviors. Round tailed ground squirrel ( tereticaudus)

White undersides

Jane Dixon

Sandy tan colored Long skinny tail

@TucsonEmily Middy Harris’s antelope squirrel (Ammospermophilus harrisii) @TucsonEmily

White line along body

Orange brown and white

White eye ring

Fluffy tail held high

PJ Cicero @TucsonEmily Striped squirrels Harris’s antelope squirrel • Found in deserts • Higher in elevation • Below 4,500 ft • 5,000-12,000 ft • Ears small and round • Ears tall and pointed • Face not striped • Face boldly striped • White eye ring only • Orange and white stripes on eyes and cheeks • Body has a single bold white stripe on each side • Back has multiple black and faint white stripes • Tail almost always held above body • Tail held behind body The Procyonids Ringtail ( astutus) ( lotor)

Black mask, Tail shorter than body

Small tan body, Long black and white tail

Jim Rorabaugh White-nosed ( narica)

Long nose and tail

Both ringtails and are primarily nocturnal while are diurnal Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana californica)

Tail bicolored, dark base with lighter tip

Pointed face

Long skinny tail Much larger than packrats

Dark stripes across eyes and forehead Gould’s turkey Turkey Turkey vulture

Colorful head

Pink head

Waddles

Shorter legs

White tipped feathers

Iridescent feathers

Solid dark brown color Long legs Thank you to all FotoFauna Partners and Collaborators!