Since I first landed in Tucson, I have been greeted with a number of surprises. I realize my perceptions were naively skewed -- Arizona's Sonoran desert is not barren. Cacti cover the landscape much like the leafier plants at home (Florida), palm trees can survive, sand and gravel can be aesthetically pleasing, 100 degrees is not nearly as hot as you would imagine, and "museum" can be spelled with only two different letters. Indeed, last week Carol Bender and a group of UBRPers-most were out-of-state NSF REU students-visited the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, which would be more accurately labeled a "Zoo."

One of the most interesting aspects of this "museum" is its integration with the surrounding desert. The half-mile "Desert Loop Trail" included sporadic exhibits-however, the fencing on many of these cages was so thin as to be almost invisible. Certainly, though, it existed, for not a single REU student shuddered staring face-to-face with a javelina-even after the tale of the woman who had taken to feeding the javelina by her home, only to go on vacation, and return a few weeks later with angry javelinas literally snapping at her legs. Also known as peccaries, javelinas are the wild boars of the Sonoran Desert.

Towards the end of the Desert Loop Trail was Cat Canyon, where one could see wild cats of the region playfully pouncing along the rocks, stealthily ambushing prey, and growling to pronounce their status as royalty amongst the animal kingdom... Well... I suppose one could see the cats doing such if one looked at just the right time (Perhaps night? The cats are nocturnal). However, more than likely, if you went on a daytime escapade to the Desert Museum, you'd see the bobcat, ocelot, and jaguarundi, acting as your normal house-pet: curled up in the shade, occasionally lifting its head as if to question your intrusion into its nap. The difference between these felines and "kitty" -- size, spots, and the respect earned from knowing that a swatting paw or playful bite could result in more than a simple skin abrasion
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The agave field (whose tips can be used as sewing needles) and the brilliant shade ramadas (made from the ribs and "skeletons" of the saguaro cactus) should not be missed along the Loop Trail.

The animals along the desert trail were interesting, but none of them necessarily surprising. If you're not native to Arizona, like most of the REU students, then it's the Riparian Corridor that would be shocking. Beavers in the desert? Certainly, not what we were expecting (but then again, many of us from rather verdant regions become surprised and excited at any sign of flowing water in Tucson).

The Cave, while primarily tailored to the younger children, is definitely worth seeing. Mummified toads and minerals with spectacularly brilliant blues, greens, and purples are worth the few minutes it takes for the eyes to adjust to darkness.

Personally, I most enjoyed the avian exhibits at the Museum. The Walk-in Aviary, though containing about forty species of native birds (wrens, woodpeckers, quail, cardinals, crows, and roadrunners among others) was not much competition for the aviary containing only Hummingbirds. The way Hummingbirds hover is almost eerie. But how could a bird whose nest is smaller than the palm of a five-year old seriously spook one? It was outside both aviaries, however, that a bird stole our hearts. The elf owl had us yearning for a lift on the No-Pets-in-the-Dorm rule.

A few hours at the museum is just enough exposure to get a taste of the fauna and flora of the Sonoran Desert region, but it is not quite enough to see everything. However, the creatures at the museum will stay with you --a wild desert lizard followed one of our group members!

Samantha Jeschonek, Visiting UBRPer from New College of Florida, Sarasota, Florida, working in Dr. Danny Brower's lab, Molecular and Cellular Biology