White Sands National Park may look almost empty at first glance. Miles of brilliant white gypsum dunes stretch across New Mexico’s Tularosa Basin, with few trees, little standing water, and summer temperatures that can make the landscape seem far too harsh for abundant wildlife.
Yet White Sands supports a surprisingly diverse animal community. More than 800 animal species have been documented in the park, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and hundreds of invertebrate species. Kit foxes hunt after dark, pale lizards race across the gypsum, roadrunners patrol desert scrub, kangaroo rats forage for seeds, and coyotes leave winding trails across the dunes.
Some of the park’s most remarkable animals have even evolved lighter coloration than relatives living in the surrounding desert. Against White Sands’ unusually bright gypsum, pale animals can be more difficult for predators to detect. The result is an extraordinary natural laboratory where visitors can see evolution, adaptation, and desert survival playing out across a landscape unlike almost anywhere else on Earth.
β‘ White Sands Wildlife Fast Facts
| Wildlife | What to Know |
|---|---|
| Kit fox | Small nocturnal desert fox |
| Coyote | Adaptable predator found throughout the area |
| Apache pocket mouse | Pale mouse adapted to the white dunes |
| Kangaroo rats | Nocturnal seed-eating desert rodents |
| Bleached earless lizard | Pale lizard associated with White Sands |
| Greater roadrunner | Year-round resident and active desert predator |
| Burrowing owl | Small owl that nests underground |
| Chihuahuan raven | Common desert bird |
| Rattlesnakes | Several venomous snake species occur in the area |
| White Sands pupfish | Fish found only in the Tularosa Basin |
| Invertebrates | More than 600 species recorded |
| Best wildlife clue | Tracks left in the gypsum overnight |
Most mammals at White Sands are nocturnal, so visitors are often more likely to see footprints than the animals themselves. Early morning is one of the best times to look for tracks preserved across smooth sections of sand.
π¦ Kit Foxes
The kit fox is one of White Sands National Park’s most appealing mammals and one of its best desert specialists.
Kit foxes are America’s smallest wild canines. Adults are roughly the size of a small domestic dog, generally weighing only a few pounds. Their oversized ears are one of their most noticeable features and help them both detect prey and release excess body heat.
At White Sands, kit foxes spend much of the daytime underground. Their dens provide shelter from the intense desert heat, and the foxes emerge primarily after sunset.
Once darkness falls, they search for rodents, rabbits, reptiles, insects, and other prey. Kangaroo rats can form an especially important part of their diet.
Their feet are also adapted for loose desert surfaces. Dense hair between their toes and footpads improves traction while moving across sandy ground.
π Why You Probably Won’t See a Kit Fox
Visitors hoping to see a kit fox need some luck.
These animals are shy and strongly nocturnal, so most daytime visitors never encounter one directly. A fox may occasionally appear during cloudy or cooler conditions, but tracks provide much more reliable evidence of its presence.
Fresh morning sand can preserve an entire story from the previous night.
You may find footprints crossing interdune areas, looping around vegetation, or following the tracks of rodents. Learning to recognize these signs can turn a wildlife walk into a kind of desert detective work.
The Dune Life Nature Trail is particularly useful for visitors interested in animal tracks because it passes through an area where desert scrub and gypsum dunes meet.
πΊ Coyotes
Coyotes are among the larger predators found at White Sands.
Their adaptability allows them to survive throughout a remarkable variety of environments, from deserts and grasslands to mountains and cities. At White Sands, they hunt rodents, rabbits, reptiles, insects, and other available prey.
Like many desert mammals, coyotes are often most active during cooler periods.
Visitors may occasionally see one crossing a road or moving through open habitat around dawn or dusk. More often, coyotes reveal themselves through tracks and scat.
Coyotes should never be fed or approached. Animals that learn to associate humans with food can lose their natural wariness and become dangerous to both themselves and visitors.
𦑠American Badgers
American badgers are another impressive predator living around the outer portions of the dune field.
Badgers are built for digging. Their muscular bodies and enormous front claws allow them to excavate soil rapidly while hunting burrowing rodents, reptiles, and insects.
They spend considerable time underground and are largely nocturnal, which makes direct sightings uncommon.
A badger may use its exceptional sense of smell to locate prey beneath the surface and then begin digging with remarkable speed.
The loose soils and rodent populations surrounding White Sands provide ideal opportunities for this specialized hunting strategy.
π Apache Pocket Mice
The Apache pocket mouse provides one of White Sands’ clearest examples of animal adaptation to the gypsum dunes.
Pocket mice living in the white sands are considerably lighter than many populations living beyond the dune field. Their pale coats provide useful camouflage against the white background.
These small rodents are named for fur-lined cheek pouches that allow them to gather and transport seeds.
They are primarily nocturnal and prefer sandy areas with relatively sparse vegetation. At night, they emerge to collect seeds and may also consume insects when necessary.
Although visitors are unlikely to see one running around during the day, their tracks may remain visible after sunrise.
π Kangaroo Rats
Kangaroo rats are exceptionally well adapted to desert life.
Their long hind legs allow them to hop rapidly across open ground, while their long tails help maintain balance. Despite their name, kangaroo rats are rodents rather than relatives of kangaroos.
At White Sands, they spend hot daylight hours inside underground burrows.
After sunset, they emerge to search for seeds across the dunes and interdune areas.
Kangaroo rats are famous for surviving with remarkably little direct drinking water. Their bodies are extremely efficient at conserving moisture, and much of the water they need can be obtained through food and metabolic processes.
Their nighttime activity also makes them an important food source for kit foxes, coyotes, owls, and snakes.
π Black-Tailed Jackrabbits
Black-tailed jackrabbits are well suited to open desert environments.
Despite the name, they are hares rather than true rabbits. Their enormous ears help release body heat, while powerful hind legs allow them to run rapidly when threatened.
Jackrabbits may be encountered around vegetated portions of the park, particularly during cooler morning and evening hours.
Their large ears are often the first feature visitors notice.
The animals feed primarily on vegetation and can survive on relatively dry desert plants, another important adaptation in a landscape where reliable surface water is scarce.
π¦ Mule Deer
Mule deer also occur at White Sands, although they are much less conspicuous than they are in mountainous or forested national parks.
The surrounding desert and basin contain patches of vegetation capable of supporting these larger herbivores.
Mule deer are named for their oversized ears. When alarmed, they often escape using a distinctive bounding movement in which all four feet may leave the ground simultaneously.
Sightings are relatively uncommon compared with smaller desert animals, but patient visitors exploring quieter areas around dawn or dusk may occasionally encounter one.
π Bobcats and Mountain Lions
Two native cats occur in the White Sands region: bobcats and mountain lions.
Bobcats are the smaller and more likely of the two to use habitats around the dune margins. They prey on rabbits, rodents, birds, reptiles, and other small animals.
Mountain lions are far larger and much rarer.
Both species generally avoid people, and the overwhelming majority of visitors never see either one.
Their presence nevertheless demonstrates that White Sands is part of a much broader Chihuahuan Desert ecosystem rather than an isolated patch of dunes.
π¦ Bleached Earless Lizard
Few animals symbolize White Sands’ evolutionary story as clearly as the bleached earless lizard.
This small lizard is a pale form found in the White Sands region. Relatives outside the gypsum dunes generally have darker coloration that blends with ordinary desert soil.
Inside the brilliant white dunes, darker coloration becomes a disadvantage.
Predators such as hawks and roadrunners can more easily detect a dark lizard against white gypsum. Over many generations, lighter individuals had a camouflage advantage and were more likely to survive and reproduce.
The result is a lizard whose coloration closely matches its unusual environment.
𧬠Evolution in the White Dunes
The gypsum dunes at White Sands are geologically young, having developed over only the last several thousand years.
That makes the adaptations of local wildlife particularly fascinating.
As the landscape became progressively whiter, animal populations living within the dunes experienced different evolutionary pressures from populations only a short distance away on darker desert soils.
Natural selection favored lighter coloration in some species because those individuals were more difficult for predatorsβor preyβto detect.
Lizards, mammals, insects, spiders, and even some amphibians have populations displaying unusually light coloration within the dune field.
White Sands therefore provides an unusually visible example of how animals can adapt to a rapidly changing environment.
π¦ Other Lizards at White Sands
The bleached earless lizard may receive the most attention, but it is far from the only reptile living here.
White Sands supports numerous lizard species, including prairie lizards, whiptails, desert side-blotched lizards, collared lizards, horned lizards, and leopard lizards.
Several have developed lighter coloration in portions of the gypsum dune field.
Lizards are among the easier wild animals to see during daylight because many become active when temperatures are warm enough for them to regulate their body temperature.
Look around vegetation and interdune areas rather than expecting most lizards to remain on the most exposed dune crests.
π Snakes
Snakes are an important part of White Sands’ desert ecosystem.
Both venomous and nonvenomous species occur in the area. Recorded species include gopher snakes, coachwhips, night snakes, long-nosed snakes, western hognose snakes, prairie rattlesnakes, desert massasaugas, and western diamondback rattlesnakes.
Most snakes want nothing to do with people and will retreat when given an opportunity.
If you encounter one, stop and give it plenty of space.
Never attempt to pick up, move, corner, or photograph a snake at close range. Even a snake that appears motionless can strike quickly when threatened.
Snakes help control rodent populations and are an important part of the park’s food web.
πΈ Amphibians in a Desert?
Frogs and salamanders may seem completely out of place at White Sands, yet amphibians are part of the park’s wildlife community.
White Sands records several species of frogs and toads as well as a salamander species.
Many desert amphibians survive dry periods by remaining underground and becoming active only after substantial rainfall creates temporary pools.
Spadefoot toads are especially well adapted to this strategy.
Following heavy summer rain, desert landscapes that seemed silent and dry can suddenly fill with calling amphibians.
These brief wet periods provide enough time for breeding before temporary water disappears again.
π¦ Birds of White Sands National Park
Birds are among the easiest animals for visitors to observe.
More than 220 bird species have been recorded in White Sands National Park, including year-round residents, seasonal visitors, and migrants passing through the Tularosa Basin.
Habitats around the dunes and desert scrub support cactus wrens, northern mockingbirds, horned larks, hummingbirds, ravens, roadrunners, owls, hawks, and numerous smaller species.
The park’s position in southern New Mexico makes it particularly interesting during migration periods.
Birding is often most productive early in the morning, when temperatures are cooler and many species are actively feeding.
π Greater Roadrunner
The greater roadrunner is one of White Sands’ most recognizable birds and the official state bird of New Mexico.
Roadrunners belong to the cuckoo family, although their appearance and behavior are very different from what many people imagine when they hear the word cuckoo.
They spend much of their time on the ground and can run rapidly while chasing prey.
Roadrunners are opportunistic predators. Their diet can include insects, lizards, rodents, scorpions, snakes, and other birds.
At White Sands, visitors may spot them around desert scrub or even near developed areas such as the visitor center.
Despite their famous running ability, roadrunners can fly and frequently use elevated perches while searching for prey.
π¦ Chihuahuan Ravens
Large black birds seen soaring over White Sands are often Chihuahuan ravens.
These desert ravens are highly intelligent and adaptable. Visitors may see pairs or small groups soaring above the dunes, perched along roads, or searching for food around desert vegetation.
Their diet is highly varied and can include insects, rodents, reptiles, carrion, seeds, fruits, and young birds.
Chihuahuan ravens resemble common ravens but are generally smaller.
A patch of white feathers occurs around the neck, although it can be difficult to see unless the bird’s feathers are ruffled.
π¦ Hawks
Several hawks use White Sands and the surrounding desert.
Red-tailed hawks are among the most familiar. Visitors may see them perched on utility poles or soaring in circles while searching for prey.
Swainson’s hawks are another notable species. These long-distance migrants spend part of the year in North America before traveling astonishing distances toward South America.
Rodents, snakes, lizards, grasshoppers, and other desert animals provide food for these aerial hunters.
Watch for birds circling above interdune flats and desert scrub where prey is easier to locate.
π¦ Burrowing Owls
Burrowing owls depart dramatically from the stereotypical image of an owl hidden in a tree.
These small owls spend much of their lives close to the ground and use underground burrows for shelter and nesting.
Their diet can include beetles, grasshoppers, rodents, small rabbits, and other prey.
Burrowing owls may sometimes stand upright near burrow entrances, making them surprisingly conspicuous in open habitat.
If you find one, observe from a distance rather than walking toward the burrow.
Repeated disturbance can interfere with nesting and other natural behavior.
π¦ Great Horned Owls
Great horned owls are larger nocturnal predators found throughout much of North America, including White Sands.
Their excellent night vision, sensitive hearing, powerful talons, and near-silent flight make them formidable hunters.
Rodents and other mammals form an important portion of their diet, though they are capable of taking surprisingly large prey.
Because they are primarily nocturnal, most White Sands visitors are more likely to hear an owl than see one.
Those staying in the area after sunset may occasionally hear the familiar deep hooting call carrying through the desert.
π¦ Horned Larks
Horned larks are among the birds particularly well suited to White Sands’ open landscapes.
They spend considerable time on the ground, where they search primarily for seeds and insects.
Their tracks can often be found running across the sand rather than hopping from place to place.
Horned larks remain in the park throughout the year and may be especially noticeable around dune margins and open flats.
Their muted coloration makes them surprisingly difficult to spot until they move.
π The White Sands Pupfish
Perhaps the most unexpected White Sands animal is a fish.
The White Sands pupfish survives in isolated aquatic habitats within the Tularosa Basin and is found nowhere else in the world.
Its existence is connected to the basin’s much wetter past.
Thousands of years ago, a large lake known as Lake Otero covered much of the Tularosa Basin. As the climate changed and the lake disappeared, aquatic habitats became increasingly fragmented.
Pupfish populations survived in only a handful of isolated locations.
One population lives in Lost River, which reaches the northeastern portion of White Sands National Park before disappearing into the sand.
π¦ Insects and Other Invertebrates
Invertebrates account for the majority of White Sands’ animal diversity.
More than 600 species have been recorded, including beetles, ants, bees, wasps, spiders, scorpions, butterflies, moths, grasshoppers, and many others.
Although these animals are easy to overlook, they perform essential ecological jobs.
Some pollinate plants. Others break down organic material, aerate soil, disperse seeds, hunt smaller animals, or become food for birds, reptiles, and mammals.
White Sands is especially remarkable for its moth diversity.
Researchers studying the dunes have discovered numerous species previously unknown to science, including many found nowhere else.
π¦ White Sands Moths
The isolated gypsum ecosystem has produced extraordinary moth diversity.
Dozens of moth species known only from White Sands have been identified, and scientific research continues to reveal additional species.
Many display pale coloration that blends well with the gypsum environment.
The dunes function almost like an ecological island.
Animals living within this unusual white habitat can become isolated from populations inhabiting the surrounding darker desert, allowing distinctive characteristics to develop over generations.
The moths are among the clearest examples of how much remains to be discovered even in a well-known national park.
πͺ² Darkling Beetles
One animal visitors may actually notice walking across the bright sand is the darkling beetle.
Unlike the pale animals that camouflage themselves against gypsum, many darkling beetles are conspicuously dark.
Their footprints can create miniature trails across the sand.
Darkling beetles are important desert recyclers and food sources for larger animals. Some species can release an unpleasant defensive chemical when threatened, which explains why these beetles are sometimes called stinkbugs.
Watch rather than handle them.
Even tiny animals contribute to the functioning of the larger dune ecosystem.
π¦ Scorpions and Spiders
Scorpions and spiders also inhabit White Sands.
Many are nocturnal and spend daylight hours concealed beneath vegetation, underground, or in sheltered areas.
Wolf spiders are among the predators adapted to sandy habitats. Rather than constructing elaborate webs to capture prey, many actively hunt other small invertebrates.
Like several other White Sands animals, some populations show coloration that helps them blend with the pale dunes.
Scorpions also hunt insects and other small animals.
Visitors should avoid placing bare hands beneath rocks, vegetation, or other places where desert animals may be sheltering.
π¦ What About Oryx?
Visitors occasionally hear about oryx, or gemsbok, in the White Sands region.
These large African antelope are not native to New Mexico. They were introduced to White Sands Missile Range beginning in the twentieth century and successfully established a population within the Tularosa Basin.
Oryx can weigh hundreds of pounds and carry extremely long, straight horns.
Their spread created conservation concerns because they can affect native vegetation and compete within desert ecosystems.
The National Park Service has used boundary fencing to help exclude oryx from White Sands National Park.
If you see oryx elsewhere in the surrounding region, remember that they are introduced animals rather than part of the original Chihuahuan Desert fauna.
π‘οΈ How Animals Survive the Heat
Avoiding the heat is one of the most important White Sands wildlife adaptations.
Many mammals, reptiles, and invertebrates retreat underground during the hottest part of the day.
Burrows provide a much more stable environment than the exposed surface. Temperatures remain cooler, evaporation is reduced, and animals are protected from predators as well as extreme sunlight.
After sunset, the desert changes.
Rodents emerge to gather seeds, kit foxes begin hunting, snakes become active, and numerous insects appear.
This explains why a midday visit can make White Sands seem nearly lifeless even though a complex community is waiting below the surface.
π§ How Animals Survive With So Little Water
Water conservation is another essential desert skill.
Some animals obtain most of the moisture they require directly from their food rather than regularly visiting open water.
Kit foxes gain moisture from prey, while seed-eating rodents have remarkably efficient kidneys that minimize water loss.
Nocturnal activity also reduces evaporation.
Sheltering underground helps animals avoid hot, dry winds and intense solar radiation that would quickly increase water requirements.
The combination of behavior, physiology, and shelter allows wildlife to survive in conditions that would otherwise be extremely difficult.
π£ Look for Tracks Instead of Animals
One of the best ways to experience White Sands wildlife is to stop looking exclusively for animals.
Look at the ground.
The gypsum surface preserves tracks exceptionally well when conditions are right. Early in the morning, you may find evidence of kit foxes, coyotes, rodents, birds, lizards, beetles, and other animals that crossed the dunes while visitors were gone.
Tracks can reveal direction, speed, interactions, and even hunting behavior.
One trail may suddenly intersect another. A rodent track may disappear beside the marks of a predator. Wing impressions may show where a bird landed.
White Sands becomes much more alive once you learn to read the sand.
π₯Ύ Best Places to Look for Wildlife
The center of the most active dunes is not necessarily the best wildlife habitat.
Extreme temperatures, scarce vegetation, limited water, and lack of shelter make the heart of the dune field difficult for many animals.
Interdune flats and dune margins generally support more life.
The Dune Life Nature Trail is particularly useful because it lies where desert scrub meets the gypsum dunes. This transition zone supports kit foxes, coyotes, badgers, rodents, reptiles, and birds.
The Interdune Boardwalk is another excellent location for observing plants, lizards, insects, birds, tracks, and the ecological differences between dunes and interdune areas.
π Best Time to See Wildlife
Early morning and evening are generally the best wildlife-watching periods at White Sands.
Temperatures are lower, many nocturnal animals may still be active around sunrise, and tracks from the previous night are fresh.
Birds also tend to be more active during the cooler morning hours.
Late afternoon becomes increasingly productive as daytime heat fades and animals begin preparing for nighttime activity.
Midday is usually the least productive period for mammal watching, particularly during summer.
Even then, lizards, insects, ravens, and other heat-tolerant animals may still be visible.
πΈ Wildlife in Spring
Spring brings increasing animal activity as temperatures rise.
Lizards emerge more regularly, migrating birds pass through the basin, insects become increasingly abundant, and flowering desert plants provide food for pollinators.
Spring can also bring dramatic swings in temperature, so wildlife activity may vary greatly from one day to another.
Early mornings remain excellent for finding tracks, while warmer portions of the day can be productive for reptiles.
βοΈ Wildlife in Summer
Summer is when desert survival strategies become most obvious.
Daytime temperatures can be extreme, pushing many mammals underground until well after sunset.
Reptiles and insects may still appear during appropriate temperature windows, particularly during mornings.
Summer thunderstorms can briefly transform the landscape. Rain may activate amphibians that have remained underground through long dry periods, while temporary pools create short-lived opportunities for breeding.
Wildlife activity often increases dramatically once temperatures fall in the evening.
π Wildlife in Fall
Fall brings cooler temperatures and increasingly comfortable conditions for both animals and visitors.
Migrating birds move through the region, reptiles remain active while temperatures stay warm enough, and mammals may become active for longer periods around dawn and dusk.
The white dunes can also preserve excellent tracks when wind conditions are favorable.
This is a particularly pleasant season for slow walks through transition areas around desert scrub and dune margins.
βοΈ Wildlife in Winter
Winter nights can become surprisingly cold at White Sands.
Reptiles become much less active during cooler weather, while many mammals continue their nocturnal routines.
Bird activity remains important because several species live in the park throughout the year, while others arrive seasonally.
Fresh tracks can be particularly striking across quiet winter dunes.
Visitors should not assume that “desert” means warm conditions. Bring layers and prepare for rapid temperature changes.
π Wildlife Viewing Safety
Wild animals should always be observed from a respectful distance.
Do not chase lizards, approach dens, attempt to touch snakes, feed mammals, or follow animals simply to get a better photograph.
Feeding wildlife changes natural behavior and can make animals dependent on or aggressive toward people.
Never leave food or trash behind.
Small scraps that seem harmless can attract rodents, foxes, coyotes, ravens, and other animals to roads and parking areas, increasing their risk of injury.
Wildlife watching is most rewarding when the animal behaves as though you are not there.
π Drive Carefully
Roads create one of the greatest hazards for desert wildlife.
Animals may cross pavement unexpectedly, particularly around dawn, dusk, and after dark.
Roadrunners, snakes, lizards, rabbits, coyotes, and other animals can all appear with little warning.
Drive at posted speeds and remain alert.
Stopping in unsafe portions of the road to photograph wildlife can create hazards for animals as well as other visitors.
If you encounter an animal near traffic, give it room rather than trying to direct its movement.
π A Desert Full of Life
White Sands demonstrates why appearances can be misleading.
An exposed dune at noon may look completely empty, but that same piece of sand may contain burrowing rodents below the surface, insects beneath vegetation, lizards hidden in shade, and tracks from predators that crossed hours earlier.
As darkness arrives, the animal community becomes much more active.
This constant shift between visible and hidden life is one of the most interesting aspects of the park.
White Sands is not an empty landscape. It is a highly specialized ecosystem in which animals survive by matching their behavior, coloration, physiology, and timing to an unusually demanding environment.
ποΈ Is White Sands Good for Wildlife Watching?
White Sands is not a national park where visitors should expect to see large herds of mammals beside the road.
Its wildlife experience is subtler.
Rather than bison or elk, the stars are pale lizards, fox tracks, nocturnal rodents, roadrunners, desert birds, insects, and highly specialized animals found nowhere else.
That makes White Sands particularly rewarding for visitors interested in ecology and adaptation.
Spend time studying tracks. Watch vegetation around interdune flats. Listen for birds. Look carefully for movement across the sand.
The longer you observe, the less empty the desert becomes.
π² Final Thoughts
White Sands National Park’s wildlife is every bit as remarkable as its landscape.
The gleaming gypsum dunes have created unusual evolutionary pressures that have produced pale mice, lizards, insects, and other animals remarkably well matched to their surroundings. Beyond the open dunes, desert scrub and interdune habitats support kit foxes, coyotes, badgers, kangaroo rats, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and an extraordinary diversity of invertebrates.
Most of these animals will not walk conveniently past a scenic overlook.
That is part of what makes wildlife watching here interesting.
Explore early in the morning, study the tracks left during the night, walk slowly through transition zones, and pay attention to the small creatures that are easy to miss. At White Sands, understanding wildlife is often less about seeing a large animal and more about discovering the remarkable ways life has learned to survive in a world of heat, drought, and brilliant white sand.
π Related Articles
- Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes
- Carlsbad Caverns National Park: A Comprehensive Guide
- Carlsbad Caverns: Unveiling the Secrets of the Big Room
- Exploring the Rich Wildlife of Guadalupe Mountains National Park
- Wind Cave National Park Wildlife: Bison, Elk, Prairie Dogs & More
π Sources & Further Reading
- National Park Service β Animals of White Sands National Park β Overview of White Sands mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates.
- National Park Service β Mammals of White Sands β Information about badgers, pocket mice, foxes, rodents, and other desert mammals.
- National Park Service β Kit Fox β Kit fox size, behavior, diet, denning, and desert adaptations.
- National Park Service β Bleached Earless Lizard β Natural selection, pale coloration, habitat, diet, and behavior of White Sands’ distinctive lizard.
- National Park Service β White Animals at White Sands β Scientific background on light coloration and adaptation within the gypsum dune field.
- National Park Service β White Species β Pale animal populations, endemic species, and evolutionary adaptations to the dunes.
- National Park Service β Birds of White Sands β Roadrunners, ravens, burrowing owls, hawks, horned larks, and other birds recorded in the park.
- National Park Service β White Sands Pupfish β History, isolation, and surviving populations of the White Sands pupfish.
- National Park Service β Wildlife Tracks β Guidance for identifying tracks and signs left by White Sands wildlife.
- National Park Service β Dune Life Nature Trail β Wildlife habitat and track-watching opportunities where desert scrub meets the dunes.
- National Park Service β White Moth Species β Research into the remarkable concentration of endemic moth species at White Sands.
