Blooming Buckhorn, Tasty Trees

A family of mule deer eat the flowers of buckhorn cholla on the Latigo Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona in May 2019

The buckhorn cholla were in full bloom in mid-May and this family of mule deer took full advantage of the soft treats. While other animals will also eat the flowers the deer have a height advantage so they can reach flowers the others can’t. The deer also fed on palo verde flowers, the trees blooming alongside both the cholla and soaptree yucca.

A family of mule deer eat the flowers of a palo verde, the trees blooming alongside soaptree yucca and buckhorn cholla, on the Latigo Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona in May 2019

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