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Large Mammals There are many large mammals that live in the northern Chihuahuan Desert and they are quite common. However, most are rarely seen by the casual visitor. The large exotic looking antelope to the right is an oryx, or gemsbok, a native of Africa. In the 1970s the State of New Mexico released a handful of these animals in the south-central part of the state. Today they number in the thousands.

Mule deer, shown to the left, wander down from the mountains and onto the desert floor occasionally. The Pronghorn can still be seen in large herds in many areas of the Chiuhuahuan Desert. . Often mistakenly called an antelope, these animals are not a true antelope since they shed their horns every year and true antelope do not.

The coyote is, perhaps, the most common large carnivore in the area and may be seen about day or night. They primarily eat small rodents and rabbits but have been known to tackle larger prey, especially if it has been weakend by age, injury or illness.

The bobcat above is the smaller cousin of the puma, or mountain lion. It inhabits all areas of the Chihuahuan Desert, from the desert floor to the highest mountains.

The Desert Bighorn Sheep (above) is now rare in the area, mainly due to an outbreak of the disease scabies a few years ago. Studies are currently underway to possibly reintroduce bighorns to the area.