Evening star., 1911-01-14
Prairie Dogs at Home.
Are Poisoned by Thousands

HTc TUlSUIlcu ny IIlUuSdHuS
TT your attitude Is sufficiently friendly
TO gain their confidence, the little
= colony Of prairie dogs at the Wash
! ington Zoo will permit YOU to see them,
and perhaps even to offer them delectable
bits of green. But If you show the slight
est hostility. away they will scuttle into
their holes and the scene presents moth
ing more attractive than numberless lit
tie mounds, in the center Of which are
holes.
Although by no means the most prom
inent of the animals exhibited at the Zoo,
these little prairie dogs can be classed
at least among those Of unusual interest.
No matter what transcontinental railroad
a traveller may take in crossing this coun-
try he is sure to see from his car window,
after the second day westward from Chi
cago, whole colonies oe these animals
In size and appearance they are about
the same as cottontail rabbits without
the ears, and as the train whiZzes by
some stand erect at the mouths of their
holes, while others scurry to and fro, or
nibble at the grass. But one and all
trains that they no longer take fright.
4 +
It is some of these animals that are
living quiet lives at the Washington Zoo,
keeping nevertheless their interesting
characteristics. On the plains their
holes are often source Of great danger
to horses, sometimes breaking their legs,
while on the western ranches they do an
almost untold amount of damage to the
crops by eating them. When a person
approaches a dog town. as 1t is called.
all the animals see him long way of
and keep a close watch on his move
ments. This is also true Of the little
animals at the Zoo. although constant
contact with people has lcssened this
habit to certain degree. But, just
oe animals. Let a stranger make a
quick movement, and they all disappear
in the winking of an eye. If especially
frightened, the prairie dog sounds a note
of alarm-a bark 1t is called-at which
all the other animals away from their
burrows rush to the entrance mounds,
where they sit or stand erect. nervously
twitching their tails and chattering or
barking excitedly. Then they dsap-
pear within.
After the excitement has subsided sew
eral little heads will appear at the open
ings. and several pairs of sharp little
clear If their survey of the land proves
satisfactory out they come and begin
! scampering around once more OF
course. after animals have become accus-
frightened than when in a wild state,
but the little animals here are by no
means beyond being frightened by unex-
pected activities on the part Of visitors
or other disturbances.
AA
Prairie dogs love sunshine and a dry
atmosphere. For this reason they are not
found in this part Of the United States
in their wild state. They are pre-emi-
nently a social animal. as tney are al
ways to be found living in colonies. In
the west these colonies are sometimes
| found covering from a few acres to thou
sands of square miles and inhabited by
/ thousands of the little animals One
| specific instance of this is known in
| Texas, where there Is one colony which
| measures about 80 miles one way and
1 100 to $50 the other. covering an area OF
5000 square miles The number OF holes
| i'll each acre which are in use varies from
few upward to almost 100, with an
average of p throughout the entire
| colony.
! The process OF ascertaining how many
J animals live in single hole is difficult
| from the fact that some Of the holes are
deserted or used only In case or a refuge
| being required. 1t is considered q con-
servative estimate. however. to say mat
| there are at least 4OO,OOO.OO0 of these lit
tie animals I'm Texas alone. From sta
| tstics compiled by an authority on de-
ltermning the relative amount Of food
consumed by animals OF various sizes i,
| was found that 81 prairie dogs eat as
much grass as one sheep. and that 2Jt
of the animals as much as one COW
Consequently the animals in Texas eat
as much grass annually as that con-
| sumed by a herd of over a million and a
half cows. For this. reason. 1t is claimed
the annual loss from prairie dogs Ii
from so to 75 per cent Of the producing
capacity of the land, while In dollars II
aggregates millions.
| -
And so 1t Is that the farmers OF thu
west have joined together in an attempt
to rid the country of these little four
footed pests. The United States gov.
ernment took up the matter, and the
with poisons and other devices to kill thu
animals. with a view to finding the mos
efficient and simple method. In this wa,
much aid was given the farmers. In
some instances their desire to be rid OF
the prairie dogs was so great that they
gladly offered to pay a rate per acre
iexceeding the actual market value OF
the land for their destruction. The
method which was found by the Depart
ment of Agriculture to be most suitable
was poisoning.
One unusual thing about the prairie
dog is its ability to do without water
On the plains. for instance, there art
many places in which the only moistur,
quantity obtained from the dry grasses
= seeds and roots theY eat. In thA arf(