Unexpected Beauty and Unequal Duels in Saguaro National Park

Saguaro National Park is an American national park in Pima County, southeastern Arizona. The 92,000-acre (37,000 ha) park consists of two separate areas—the Tucson Mountain District (TMD) about 10 miles west of the city of Tucson and the Rincon Mountain District (RMD) about 10 miles east of the city—that preserve Sonoran Desert landscapes, fauna, and flora, including the giant saguaro cactus. An inventory of medium and large mammals in the park confirmed the presence of 30 species in Saguaro National Park between 1999 and 2008. Of these, 21 were found in the Tucson Mountain District and 29 in the Rincon Mountain District. A partial list of the park’s mammals includes cougars, coyotes, bobcats, white-tailed deer, mule deer, javelinas, gray foxes, black-tailed jackrabbits, desert cottontails, ring-tailed cats, white-nosed coatis, ground squirrels, and packrats. One endangered mammal, the lesser long-nosed bat, lives part of the year in the park and part of the year in Mexico. The wide range of habitats in the