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Scenic landscape photo of the Gila River Preserve.
Gila Riparian Preserve The Conservancy’s Gila Riparian Preserve protects more than 1,200 acres of the Southwest’s fragile riparian habitat and the verdant gallery woodland along the river. © Erika Nortemann/The Nature Conservancy

Stories in New Mexico

Gila River Wildlife

Trail camera photos from Gila River Preserve

Dr. Keith Geluso, a biology professor at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, had a hypothesis: the Gila River and its floodplain—with its natural flow regime—likely support a vast number of mammals. But there wasn’t much research. That’s why he set up a camera at our Gila River Preserve near Silver City. Here is a sampling of what he discovered.

Help protect the Gila River and the wildlife that depends on it.

TRAIL CAMERA AT GILA RIVER PRESERVE

Animal Camera at Gila Preserve New Mexico’s state animal, American black bear, made an early appearance. © Keith Geluso/The Nature Conservancy
Mountain Lion Did you know that a cougar's tail makes up a third of this large cat’s body length! © Keith Geluso/The Nature Conservancy
Collared peccary Also known as javelinas, peccaries often cool off in wooded areas during the hottest part of the day. It’s also a good place to forage for plants. © Keith Geluso/The Nature Conservancy
Nocturnal animals Nighttime brings more animals to the Gila River Preserve trail. The white-backed hog-nosed skunk looks for a bite to eat. Striped & western spotted skunk were also spotted. © Keith Geluso/The Nature Conservancy
Cooper's Hawk The Gila River is famous for birding opportunities, but it’s not just neotropical migrators you can see. Raptors like this Cooper's hawk also thrive here. © Keith Geluso/The Nature Conservancy
Common gray fox Mostly nocturnal, foxes head out shortly after sunset to prey on small mammals like cottontail rabbits and ground-dwelling birds. © Keith Geluso/The Nature Conservancy
Bobcat This bobcat showed up in a few photos, and the camera caught a perfect profile . © Keith Geluso / The Nature Conservancy
Bobcat Unlike cougars, bobcat tails are extremely short. In fact, that’s how these black-tufted creatures got their name. © Keith Geluso/The Nature Conservancy
Desert Cottontail Abundant in the Southwest, this arid-adapted rabbit has large ears that help dissipate heat and keep them from overheating. © Keith Geluso/The Nature Conservancy
White-nosed Coati A member of the raccoon family. © Keith Geluso/The Nature Conservancy
× Animal Camera at Gila Preserve New Mexico’s state animal, American black bear, made an early appearance. © Keith Geluso/The Nature Conservancy
× Mountain Lion Did you know that a cougar's tail makes up a third of this large cat’s body length! © Keith Geluso/The Nature Conservancy
× Collared peccary Also known as javelinas, peccaries often cool off in wooded areas during the hottest part of the day. It’s also a good place to forage for plants. © Keith Geluso/The Nature Conservancy
× Nocturnal animals Nighttime brings more animals to the Gila River Preserve trail. The white-backed hog-nosed skunk looks for a bite to eat. Striped & western spotted skunk were also spotted. © Keith Geluso/The Nature Conservancy
× Cooper's Hawk The Gila River is famous for birding opportunities, but it’s not just neotropical migrators you can see. Raptors like this Cooper's hawk also thrive here. © Keith Geluso/The Nature Conservancy
× Common gray fox Mostly nocturnal, foxes head out shortly after sunset to prey on small mammals like cottontail rabbits and ground-dwelling birds. © Keith Geluso/The Nature Conservancy
× Bobcat This bobcat showed up in a few photos, and the camera caught a perfect profile . © Keith Geluso / The Nature Conservancy
× Bobcat Unlike cougars, bobcat tails are extremely short. In fact, that’s how these black-tufted creatures got their name. © Keith Geluso/The Nature Conservancy
× Desert Cottontail Abundant in the Southwest, this arid-adapted rabbit has large ears that help dissipate heat and keep them from overheating. © Keith Geluso/The Nature Conservancy
× White-nosed Coati A member of the raccoon family. © Keith Geluso/The Nature Conservancy