Nature

Aptly named, spadefoot toads spend the majority of the year in underground burrows they dig with their hind legs and bony, shovel-like feet. Four species live in Arizona:…

As tadpoles are to toads, water dogs are to tiger salamanders: the fully aquatic larval form of the species. When water dogs metamorphose into adult salamanders, some lose…

It's a familiar story, but in case you were sleeping through history class: Buffalo once roamed all across the grasslands of North America, from northwestern Canada, along…

Otters are about as intimidating as bears — teddy bears, gummy bears, Cal Bears. They're relatively nonthreatening, in part because of their chocolatey-brown fur, webbed…

If misters are proof of anything, it's that it takes a little moisture in the air to get Arizonans to even consider moving around in the summer. Desert tortoises are…

Picture a raccoon with a slimmer body and a longer tail and a snout. Add white fur around the eyes and nose, and you have the white-nosed coatimundi, the only species of…

While taking an early morning or late-afternoon walk through the forests in Northern Arizona, keep your eyes peeled for the Hopi chipmunk’s long, fuzzy tail slipping into…

Coyotes have a special place in Southwestern kitsch. They're often depicted on screen-printed souvenir-shop apparel, howling at a Swiss-cheese moon. Neither nightlights…

Chiricahua fox squirrels live up to their name — their tails are characteristically bushy, like fox tails. Located as far north as Arizona’s Chiricahua Mountains and as…