Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1885-10-01
THE FAUNA OF COLORADO.
The Buffalo, the Elk, the Little Pra-
irIe Dogs, aud the Owls-AIl the
Creatures which Are Found In
Mountains and on Plains


intermediate regions moderate, that
no where. SAYS The Denver Tribune
! Republican, is there a greater diver.
sity of animal life than there is in
this state. That tAere are more of
them than there are in the eastern
states is accounted for by the fact that
civlizatloa is am extermIHator, and
/ that numerous species of the various
! families so common here are seldom
seen in older and more civilized sec.
! lions of the country. The animals in
! this part of the west grow to much
greater size than they do in the east,
and there are greater varieties here
than there are in the most North Am
erican sections.
Mountainous regions are particular
/ ly well adapted to the propagation Of
/ animal life; there are those that can
not exist outside Of the rocky fastness
which they inhabit, and there are
those which are native 10 the soil of
the plains, burrowing under ground
miles away from water and vegetation.
| This singular mode of existence,
which is observed in the cases of
| prairie dogs and other animals, is &C
counted for by the supposition that
| they find water in the course or their
! borrowings, otherwise they could not
| exist
These little animals live in villages,
raising the ground high above them
as they buToW, and they can never
be caught save by partial drowning, a
scheme which is employed by their
captors in this part of the country.
When their captivity is desired tho
water from the irmgating bitches is
turned on, and they are finally taken
out of the bitches when too exhausted
to resist
Burrowing owls are supposed to
share THAR habitation with rattle>
snakes, but this is net probable, as
raCtlesnakes are known to prey upon
young prairie-dogs, and, ike many
other legends pertaining to animals,
this one is known by nsturallsts to be
untrue.
The buffalo which has long been
known as the modest native to this
region, has become almost extinct,
having been hunted 10 death, and is
now found mostly In portions OF Da-
kata and Montana. 1t is mild, shy
animal, its characteristics being sinai
lar to those of domestic cattle. The
male is proud, strong minded aBi~
NAL, and is famous for its magnificent
proportions and stately air.
The American elk or wappitl, in
habit the mountains. In very severe
weather, when driven downward by
hunger and extreme cold, they de-
scend into the valleys, and may often
be found sleeping with herd OF cat
tie.
The deer, native to Colorado, is
called the black tailed deer, or mule
deer to distinguish il from the eastern
deer, which is known as the white
tailed variety. Colorado's native deer
are similar TO those in California,
with the exception that their ears are
very large. The horns of these AMI
mails are deciduous, and drop off every
spring, growing on again during the
summer. These monster horns drop
off the same way and grow on again
within five months While they are
growing they are covered with hair
and skin, and are spoken of as being
Gin the velvet" Ia the fall the horns
attain their full growth, and the vel
vet dries and peals off. The horns
then ccme out clean and fresh. When
q horn has attained its full growth for
one season, ring of knotty protaber
ances forms around the base of the
horn, and so doing checks the supply
of noUnshment from which emanates
the velvet on the horn. After this
the velvet peels off like the bark off q
tree. AT this period the deer rub their
horns as if they itched and were glad
10 be relieved. The horns are an en-
tirely new growth each season, but
grow larger with every succeeding
year
The age of a deer can be told by the
number OF prongs on its horns up
to seven years. The first year Of their
existence they have no horns; the
second they have a spike or one prong
on each side of the head; the third
year they have a spike with one prong;
the fourth year they have two prongS,
and so on up to the age of SIX years.
After that the horns have six points.
They stop increasing IN number, and
grow thick, stocky, and strong.
The antelope is found IN the nouns
tains and on the plains They are al
ways striped. red and white, and are
much smaller than deer They are
very graceful and beautiful animals,
and are usually found on the plains
and in the mountain parks. During
cold weather they come down near to
the habtations OF men, where they
frequently lose their lives, and are
shipped into Denver by the carloads,
their flesh being valuable for meat.
| These animals also shed their horns
yealy, but do not shed them all at
once The prong horn antelope sheds
black shell in the spring; when the
she'll drops off a pithy substance
grows up and developes into another
she'll, which later developes INTO an
other big horn.
The big horn Or mountain sheep is
a uobler looking ANIMAL with a fine
face and liquid brown eyes. They
4 are very independeOt. and utterly re-