Death Valley Deep Dive 2024

[netllama]

I took an adventure way off the beaten path into the very heart of the Panamint Mountains to find these cool fossilized camel tracks.  Or something like that…  

This is a good time to bring up a bit of trivia that I find interesting.  I've thought it strange that I never see half eaten creosote bushes.  I come across cactus with chunks bitten out of them and that's a much nastier plant, so why not creosote?

From wikipedia: 

Of mammals, only the jackrabbit will eat the leaves of a creosote bush, and only when there are no alternatives. 

The Arabian camel, brought to the area by the United States Camel Corps, readily ate creosote bush. It is thought that this meeting reestablished a biological relationship that was broken when the American camels became extinct in the Quaternary Extinction Event.

This is an example of an Evolutionary Anachronism.  Another great example I know of is the north american pronghorn, which is much faster than the fastest predator around, the wolf.  Why?  Because there used to be cheetahs in north america.

Can't say I'm surprised about the camels. They seem willing to eat just about anything. I've seen them chewing on rocks, gourds, and every part of fruits (including seeds, pits, etc).