Wildlife is everywhere in Black Rock-High Rock Country, even barren parts of the playa. In addition to familiar species like bighorn sheep, falcons, and pronghorn, look closely and you may also spot pygmy rabbits, fairy shrimp, and two-inch-long Pacific chorus frogs.
Where to Find Wildlife
Wherever you end up exploring, the best times to view wildlife are near dusk and dawn when temperatures are cooler. Remember to keep your eyes open for wildlife that often blend into the background hues of the landscape.
One of the best places to view wildlife is High Rock Canyon. Here, you’re likely to see bighorn sheep on the steep canyon slopes and hear the calls of the chukar and quail echoing against the walls. Great horned owls, red-tailed hawks, prairie falcons and golden eagles all nest on the tall cliffs of the canyons.
Beyond the canyon look for sage grouse, coyote and pronghorn antelope on the open sage-brush covered hills. During the hot summer months these species can be found near springs where water and green vegetation are found.
The highest elevations on the Calico Mountains, Black Rock Range, Jackson Mountains and the Massacre Mountains area are home to healthy populations of mule deer. These animals seek palatable shrubs, tall brush, and shaded canyons for cover. If you look closely you may see a pygmy rabbit in the tallest sagebrush stands.
The dunes and hummocks that surround the barren Black Rock Desert playa are habitat for kit foxes, antelope, ground squirrels, kangaroo rats, horned lizards, badgers, and rattlesnakes.
If you visit the area when the playa is flooded, you may be able to find fairy shrimp or tadpole shrimp in the flood water. When the playa is flooded, dormant eggs hatch, and these invertebrates grow rapidly to over three inches in length, mate, and then die as the playa dries. Their eggs live in the surface layer of the playa waiting for the next flooding.
Below are descriptions for many of the most commonly viewed wildlife species in Black Rock-High Rock country.