ARIZONIQUES

ARIZONA'S MONKEYS ARIZONIQUES GRAND CANYON, NATURALLY

The date is 1924. The visitor from back East glimpses a number of longtailed, furry animals swinging about by their arms in a grove of trees in southern Arizona and exclaims, "My gosh, we have discovered an Arizona breed of monkeys."

Actually our visitor had spotted an assembly of coatimundis (Nasua nasua). These rust-brown cousins of the raccoon look like badgers crossed with anteaters, weigh about 25 pounds, and walk ahead of jaunty, two-footlong, non-prehensile tails. Sometimes the tail is all you see, poking out of tall grass.

Coatis eat just about everythingants, mice, worms, tubers, fruits, birds, birds' eggs, lizards, snakes, tarantulas. They catch flying insects. In the Mexican jungles, they take iguanas by dropping from trees on the unsuspecting lizards.

Though teddy-bearish in appearance, coatis are equipped with long claws on their forefeet, and inch-long Fangs. They are unexpectedly strong and can be commando-tough when necessary. In a skirmish, dogs come out second best. During the mating season, the males literally shred the hide off one another. When hunting they can turn over boulders several times their weight. Young coatis have no sense of direction, becoming lost as many as 20 times a day - usually no more than 50 feet from the female parent. They yip and whimper; the parents answer in grunts and snorts. Coatis are rarely quiet or inactive. Old males like being alone, and break off relations with the band. Mexicans call them solitarios, solitary ones. And Mexico is where the coatis came from, migrating into Arizona, southern New Mexico, and Texas around the turn of the century. Nobody has mistaken coatimundis for monkeys lately, but, in action, they're as entertaining as a barrel full of the little primates. Several coatis are on exhibit at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, near Tucson, and at the Phoenix Zoo. -James Tallon Something of an almanac, a sampler, a calendar, and a guide to places, events, and people unique to Arizona and the Southwest.

The variety of intriguing plants and animals delights visitors at the Grand Canyon, but many people can't tell wild mustard from a serviceberry or a sapsucker from a titmouse. The Grand Canyon Natural History Association has come to the rescue of neophyte naturalists with a beautiful poster and key to identifying the flora and fauna of the Grand Canyon's South Rim. The watercolor poster by artist Lawrence Ormsby shows 29 frequently seen plants and animals of the South Rim, and serves as a striking piece of art as well as an educational tool. So now there is no excuse for failing to recognize the juniper hairstreak or a cecropia moth the next time you visit the South Rim. To order this poster (available for $6.00, postage included) and other posters, books, maps, and video tapes about the natural history of the Grand Canyon, write to Grand Canyon Natural History Association, Box 399, Grand Canyon, AZ 86023; telephone (602) 638-7774.

AGAVE AGRICULTURE

You spot them just north of Marana on Interstate Route 10: century plants, much like the ones scattered across the desert that shoot up those telephonepole-like stalks topped with bunches of blossoms. But here they line up in straight, cultivated rows, a fine field full of agaves. A sign says "University of Arizona Marana Agricultural Center." The fleshy blue-green plants are being grown as a possible low-maintenance crop for Arizona farmers faced with diminishing water and land resources.

Robert G. McDaniel, the University of Arizona scientist in charge of the experimental farm's agave research, says the plant is something special. Traditionally, Native Americans have eaten the agave's starchy flesh and imbibed its easily fermented sap (called pulque) since about 7000 B.C. The Hohokam and other prehistoric Indians roasted the leaves in pits, much in the style of a New England clambake, a custom that continues today in central Mexico. Mesoamerican Indians also wrap food in the agave's tough outer layer in the same manner we use plastic wrap. Mexican distillers makemescal and tequila-the spirit that gives the margarita its kickfrom agave sap, which is nearly 50 percent sugar.

Agaves also benefit the environment.

Their shallow roots and spreading habits encourage the regrowth of native grasses and plants in areas where these are all but extinct because of human pressures on the environment. They also effectively control soil erosion.

Agaves are grown commercially in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, but only McDaniel and botanist Howard Scott Gentry have cultivated them as a crop in Arizona. The plant's commercial potential is great. Parts of the plant are used in rope, twine, sisal, cattle feed, paper, soap, artificial sweeteners, musical instruments, mats, fishing gear, basketry, hair brushes, and building materials. U. S. consumers spend more than $30 million a year on tequila which could easily be produced in this country. And growing agaves, a rich source of steroids used in pharmaceutical drugs and odor-controlling compounds, can earn farmers as much as grain crops-with little or no irrigation.

"The work we're doing will show us how to manage some of the state's land and water resources in the near future," remarks McDaniel. "Arizona's agriculture must change. We have to anticipate these changes and go with them." Agave, an ancient desert resource, may be part of tomorrow's agribusiness.

CALENDAR

November 1 through November 8, Phoenix. The Arizona State Fair: exhibits, booths, rides, and top name entertainment for the family. Telephone 252-6771.

November 14 and 15, Tucson. The Tucson Scottish Highland Games. Scots and Irish celebrate their heritage with the wearing of costumes, bagpipe bands, dancers, athletic events, tugof-war, sale of Scottish and Irish products and a Saturday evening dance. For information, write Tucson Games, Box 40665, Tucson, AZ 85717.

November 19 through 21, Tucson. "Open Spaces, City Places: Contemporary Literature in the Changing Southwest." Conference co-sponsored by the Tucson Library's Writers of the Purple Sage Project and the National Endowment for the Humanities focuses on the enigma of the Southwest of wide-open spaces and the growing Sun Belt cities. Speakers include N. Scott Momaday, Leo Marx, Rolando Hinojosa Smith, Edward Abbey, Charles Bowden, and Arizona Highways' Robert Farrell. Telephone 791-4391.

November 20 through 22, Phoenix. The Arizona Gem and Mineral Showcase fills the Youth Center Building at the Arizona State Fairgrounds with beautiful and intriguing gems and minerals. Telephone Joe McIntosh, 827-1776.

November 21, Tucson. El Tour de Tucson V, America's largest perimeter bicycling event, attracts more than 3,000 cyclists and raises nearly $250,000 for the American Diabetes Association. Workshops, film festivals, and celebrations lead up to the tour. Telephone 745-2033.

November 29, Bisbee. A look inside unique Victorian homes decorated for the holiday season is the object of the Bisbee Home Tour in this turn-of-thecentury copper mining town. Telephone 431-2141.

For a more complete calendar, free of charge, please write the Arizona Office Of Tourism, Department CE, 1480 E. Bethany Home Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85014. Unless otherwise noted, all telephone numbers are within area code 602.