The Zone-tail Ranch is a 320 acre (half of a section; one mile long and half a mile wide) piece of beautiful desert near the crest of the Aquarius Mountains, Arizona, at an elevation of about 5000 feet. It is located east of Kingman (east of US-93) and south of I-40.

The land is rocky canyon country with cliffs, seasonal streams, and perennial springs. The Zone-tail Ranch is just above the level of the cliffs where the land starts to flatten out, and includes one major mountain top and one major canyon. Vegetation is dominated by juniper with some pinyon, oak, cactus, yucca, and a diverse collection of shrubs and annual plants. It is transitional between the pinyon-juniper highland and the Sonoran Desert lowlands. Perennial vegetation probably covers no more than 20% of the ground.

We have a diversity of mammals at the ranch. We have seen javelina and mule deer, but these are hunted and so are shy. We see a lot of javelina sign in certain places, but only a few pigs. In the fall of 1996, we saw a large group of about 15 adult javelina and one juvenile, but in September 1997, we saw a group of six adults and about seven juveniles. I guess it was a good year. We also have lots of rabbits (cottontail and jack rabbits), ground squirrels (rock and antelope), and rats (woodrats, kangaroo rats, deer mice) that provide food for skunks, coyotes, foxes, and probably some cats.

The following is a list of species that might occur in the vicinity of the Zone-tailed Ranch. Species seen are marked with an asterisk (*). If you have an interest in Arizona mammals, send us a note.