Life on the Rocks – This is a great area of the park that has many exhibits that have glass viewing and are built into the surrounding rocks. There are over 20 exhibits and over 30 species displayed in this relatively new development. Many of these terrariums are situated at about knee-height, so I was bending over and crouching down in an attempt to spot elusive animals. There are all sorts of frogs, snakes, scorpions, spiders, lizards, ground squirrels, owls, insects and a skunk in this section. There is a large rock that you can lift up and then beneath it is a scorpion prominently displayed in a glass-fronted exhibit. The only problem with this section is that it was quite tough actually locating the animals and one habitat had a couple of snake species and a handful of frog species that were all almost impossible to find.
Partial species list for Life on the Rocks: western diamondback rattlesnake, bark scorpion, stripe-tailed scorpion, tiger rattlesnake, speckled rattlesnake, kissing bug, black widow spider, gila monster, gopher snake, coachwhip snake, Sonoran whipsnake, western tarantula, black-tailed rattlesnake, giant crab spider, desert night lizard, Sonoran lyre snake, banded gecko, lowland leopard frog, canyon tree frog, longfin dace, Sonora sucker, loach minnow, giant spotted whiptail lizard, black-throated sparrow, black-tailed gnatcatcher, elf owl, red-spotted toad, California leaf-nosed bat, Harris’ antelope squirrel and hog-nosed skunk.
