Saturday, October 20, 2012

The Chihauhau Living Desert


One of the two bobcats
Our last adventure in Carlsbad was to visit the Living Desert Museum and Zoo. It was fascinating. While the desert looks so arid with little life, it actually has many more life forms than greener pastures. 

For example, the Chihuahua desert has hundreds of types of grasses, many more than in wetter areas. Fascinating! We enjoyed meandering around the Living Desert and enjoyed our first sight of a roadrunner. We didn't see the cougar, but saw two handsome babcats and some gray wolves. Most of the animals are there because they were rescued. 

One of my favorite displays was the small botanical garden filled with beautiful flowers, cacti, etc. I was amazed at the wide variety of cactus and the wonderful names!




organ pipe cactus - very fitting name I think
This looks like a type of hibiscus. I don't recall its name.

barrel cactus - love the pink spines!

These wild pigs are the same type in a child's story, The Lion's Bed. But I can't remember what they're called. 

This photo was a miracle. The roadrunner never stands still and I had a heck of a time catching him! 

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