Tie Me Kangaroo Rat Down, Sport

There's a female Pyrrhuloxia right above the red dot

At the far point of our hike this morning we spotted a Kangaroo Rat on the trail.  It let me get quite close for a photograph before it scrambled off in between the pad of a Prickly Pear Cactus.  Kangaroo Rats--so-called because they hop using their back feet and tail (for balance)--are found primarily in the arid regions of North America.  They eat dry seeds, and have the ability to extract water from those seeds.  Remarkably their kidneys have evolved to eliminate waste without wasting precious water.

Rocky east side of the mountain

Behind the Tortoise

Kangaroo Rat

Becca and Dr. K