Wildlife near El Paso, TX
El Paso is high Chihuahuan Desert against the Franklin Mountains, dry and bright and full of specialists. Greater roadrunners and cactus wrens work the creosote flats, desert cottontails and rock squirrels handle the rest, and the Franklin Mountains State Park rising through the middle of the city holds mule deer, desert spiny lizards, and the occasional mountain lion. The Rio Grande on the border draws migrating shorebirds and waterfowl to what water is left.
Everything below is pulled live from recent research-grade observations near El Paso. Browse by group, explore the map, and identify what you find with Huck.
Naturalists have logged 30,173 research-grade observations across the 30 most-recorded species near El Paso. The most frequently seen is the Creosote Bush, with 4,660 recorded sightings.
Plants account for the largest share of what gets recorded there (14 of the species listed here), followed by birds (11).
Most-observed species near El Paso
Built from recent research-grade iNaturalist observations. Identifications are community-sourced and may occasionally be wrong, and the ranking reflects where people record and photograph wildlife, so a species seen often here is not necessarily rare elsewhere. Some plants and animals are only out in certain seasons. Treat this as a lively snapshot of what people are finding, not a formal checklist.
Get rare-sighting alerts for El Paso
We’ll email you when an uncommon or rare species is spotted here. One check a day, only when there’s something new.
Free. Unsubscribe from any email. See our Privacy Policy.
More wildlife near El Paso
Exploring El Paso?
Take Huck with you. Identify any wildlife you find in seconds, and watch the live map of what is being spotted near El Paso right now.
Get HuckExploring El Paso? Get Huck field notes
Spotting tips, new species, and the best of what naturalists are finding - straight to your inbox.