Wildlife viewing takes patience. Many mammals are nocturnal so it is difficult to see them during the day. But here are a few tips courtesy of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department that may improve your chances of success:

• Wear natural colors and unscented lotions.
• Remove glasses that glint.
• Walk softly.
• Crouch behind boulders or vegetation to blend your figure in with the landscape.
• Use your peripheral vision rather than turning your head.
• Look above and below you. Animals occupy niches in all the vertical and horizontal layers of  a habitat.
• Cup your hands around the back of your ears to amplify natural sounds.
• Sit quietly in one place and listen. Animals fall silent when a predator (such as you!) is passing through an area.

Mammals of the Nature Center

Order Lagomorpha

Family Leporidae
Black-tailed Jackrabbit (Lepus californicus)
Desert Cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii)
Davis Mountain Cottontail (Sylvilagus robustus)

Order Rodentia

Family Sciuridae
Texas Antelope Squirrel (Ammosphermophilus interpres)
Mexican Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus mexicanus)
Rock Squirrel (Spermophilus variegatus)

Family Geomyidae
Yellow-faced Pocket Gopher (Cratogeomys castanops)

Family Heteromyidae
Silky Pocket Mouse (Perognathus flavus)

Family Muridae
Brush Mouse (Peromyscus boylii)
White-footed Mouse (Peromyscus leucopus)
White-ankled Mouse (Peromyscus pectoralis)
Eastern White-throated Woodrat (Neotoma leucodon)
Southern Plains Woodrat (Neotoma micropus)
House Mouse (Mus musculus)

Family Erethizontidae
Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum)

Order Carnivora

Family Canidae
Coyote (Canis latrans)
Common Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus)

Family Procyonidae
Ringtail (Bassariscus astutus)
Raccoon (Procyon lotor)

Family Mustelidae
Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis)
Western Spotted Skunk (Spilogale gracilis)

Family Felidae
Mountain Lion (Puma concolor)

Order Artiodactyla

Family Tayassuidae
Collared Peccary (Javelina) (Pecari tajacu)

Family Cervidae
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
Elk (Cervus elaphus)

Family Bovidae
Barbary Sheep (Aoudad) (Ammotragus lervia)

Family Suidae
Feral Hog (Sus scrofa)

Order Chiroptera

Family Vespertilionidae
Cave myotis (Myotis velifer)
Yuma myotis (Myotis yumanensis)
Pallid Bat (Antrozous pallidus)
Western pipistrelle (Pipistrellus hesperus)

Family Molossidae
Brazilian Free-tailed Bat (Tadarida brasiliensis)