Animals & Gardens

Dominated by a central pachycaul trunk, older wild specimens of this tree often grow in irregular and whimsical silhouettes.

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The show stopping flowers form sweet red fruits.

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It is an important habitat plant for the endangered California Gnatcatcher.

The Candelabra tree is a succulent tree-like euphorbia species native from northern South Africa to Kenya where it inhabits dry areas and grasslands. It grows up to 20 feet tall or more and produces many branches giving it a candelabra-like structure. Its inconspicuous flowers provide nectar for butterflies and bees and its seeds are eaten by birds. It produces highly toxic milky latex sap that can cause blindness, skin irritation, and poisoning if ingested. Its stems have been used as fish poison, but the candelabra tree also has purported medical uses and its light wood has been used for doors, planks, and boat construction.

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They cannot shoot their quills.

They are mostly vegetarians, feeding on wild roots, bulbs, berries and other plants. In cultivated areas they eat groundnuts, potatoes, pumpkins, melons and maize. Lions have been known to prey on Cape Porcupine.

Adults grow to 25-29 inches long and weigh from 20-66 pounds. The quills on the neck and back are black and white and the tips of the tail quills can range up to 20 inches long. They make a rattling sound when the porcupine feels threatened. It is sometimes called a crested porcupine because some quills can be erected into a crest, which starts at the top of the head and extends to the shoulder.

Females produce 2 to 3 litters of 1 or 2 young every year, in a grass-lined burrow. Babies are covered with bristles and soft quills which harden a few hours after birth. The mother nurses them from teats located on the sides of her body, away from her quills.

When attacked or annoyed, porcupines raise their quills and rattle them vigorously to scare off predators. They may charge sideways or backward, detaching quills into the flesh of the attacker. Once barbed quills enter the skin, they are almost impossible to remove and the wounds become infected, eventually killing the attacker.

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Until recently, this species was known to science only through fossil remains. The first modern-day sightings of live Chacoan peccaries in Paraguay were reported in 1972.

Chacoan peccary is the largest of the peccaries. Males and females look alike. The bristly coat is speckled charcoal or brownish-gray, interspersed with long guard hairs, which may be up to 8-9” long.  There is a whitish collar across the shoulders and under the chin, which is thinner and less distinct than that in the Collared peccary. There is a black dorsal stripe, which trails onto the tail.  The head is extremely large, and the nose tapers to a snout disc made of cartilage. The long, donkey-like ears are covered with long, pale hair, as are the legs.  The legs are relatively long and adapted for running, with dewclaws only on the forelegs.

Chacoan peccary uses its snout to roll cacti on the ground, rubbing the spines off.  Its kidneys are specialized to break down acids from the cacti, and its two-chambered stomach is well suited to digest its food. The bristly brownish-gray coat provides excellent camouflage, and peccaries’ tiny feet help them to pick their way through their thorny habitat. Chacoan peccaries also possess a third hind toe, while other peccaries only have two.

In just a few strides, a cheetah can run as fast as a car on the freeway. While running, the cheetah’s flat-shaped tail acts like the rudder of a boat, allowing swift turns midair with superior steering and balance.

After catching their prey, cheetahs must recover and eat quickly to avoid other predators that may drive them away from their meal.

Cheetahs are primarily threatened by habitat loss and human-wildlife conflict. The Living Desert actively participates in cheetah conservation in the international Cheetah Public Engagement program for the Saving Species From Extinction Program and a number of international cheetah conservation organizations

Within this garden, native northern Chihuahuan desert plants thrive and showcase their resilience in the arid landscape. Prickly pear cacti, towering yuccas, and majestic sotols adorn the sandy terrain, creating a picturesque scene that truly captures the essence of North America’s largest hot desert.

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When threatened, they will dive into a crack in the rocks and gulp air until their body inflates and becomes wedged so tightly between the rocks that they cannot be pulled out.

This is a large, stocky, wide-bodied lizard. Males have reddish-pink to orange, yellow or light gray bodies and black heads, shoulders and limbs, while females and the immature have bodies with scattered spots or contrasting bands of light and dark in shades of gray or yellow plus banded tails. Males are generally larger than females, and possess well-developed femoral pores located on the inner sides of their thighs which produce secretions believed to play a role in marking territory.

They are herbivorous, eating buds, flowers, fruit and leaves and obtaining moisture from their food. Their 4-6 month activity period is closely regulated by food availability and they usually retreat into estivation by August and into hibernation during the cooler months.

They are preyed on by golden eagles, hawks, ravens, roadrunners, coyotes, kit foxes, bobcats and snakes. Their tails will detach if grabbed by a predator, allowing them to escape, but they do grow back.

Males defend their territories against other males with head bobbing, pushups and by chasing their rivals away. After courtship displays of head-bobbing, from April to July, mating occurs, and females lay 5-16 eggs, which hatch in late September.