Spent some time recently at the south rim of the Grand Canyon, it was a bright, clear and sunny winter day. Along with the monumental views, we saw a few creatures that day as well. Please do not feed the wildlife! They do have specialized diets and human foods do not have the adequate nutrition, which may cause them to become malnourished and cause health issues.

The Rock squirrel is a rodent native to the southwest U.S. and Mexico. They are a large squirrel with speckled brown and black fur with white around the eyes. They eat mostly leaves, stems and seeds, but will also eat nuts, fruits, and cacti.

The Cliff chipmunk is a much smaller squirrel that lives along cliff walls and boulders in pinyon-juniper wooded areas. They are considered very agile, as they scale cliff walls. They feed on insects, nuts, berries, seeds, fruits, and grains. They stash these foods and eat as they need them.

Common ravens were all over the place on this day, they are large, thick, glossy black birds. Their wedged tail when soaring is unique to them and helps differentiate them from crows. Ravens are social and loud birds with high intelligence. They have 64 various vocalizations and they can mimic sounds including dogs, frogs, along with nature or industrial noises.