After record temps in southern Arizona, did animals survive the heat?

TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - With record heat plaguing southern Arizona for months now, you’ve seen the impact it’s had on your plants.

But what about our desert neighbors?

Experts at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum said like us, desert life has simply learned how to deal with the extremes Arizona has to offer whether they be record highs or lows.

One way they do that is by going nocturnal.

Animals will avoid going outside during the day to beat the heat, then do everything they need to at night or during the cooler morning hours.

Experts said desert animals do this because they know if they don’t adapt, they’ll die.

“There’s no hardships here for the animals. They’re simply, absolutely acclimated and used to dealing with those extremes. And they have many different strategies to do so. So do the plants for that matter,” Zoo Curator for the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Howard Byrne said.

Byrne added that there are some cases where the hot weather gets the best of animals.

This mostly happens to those with a disadvantage like an injury or old age.

Overall, nothing unusual has happened this year.

According to Byrne, this just follows the law of the desert where averages mean nothing and it’s all about the extremes for these animals and plants.

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