The Logistics of Stampede Summary . As they fly in an aircraft above a continent on Ribol II , Newt Henderson explains the Dranzer problem to Kirk , McCoy , and Spock . The Dranzers are beasts which normally live in the hilly grasslands of the west , but every six years , the Dranzer herd becomes massively overpopulated and stampedes east into the plains , trampling the majority of the Ribolian settlers ' crops in the process . The settlers have managed to recover from the last such attack , but the Dranzers ' numbers are once again growing , and another stampede is expected within six months . However , that estimate is optimistic , as the beasts ' populations have already reached critical levels , and the stampede could effectively start at any time . Unfortunately , the Dranzers can ' t simply be eradicated , as the tall grass in the hills would take over the plains if not kept in check by the Dranzers ' grazing . Nor will selective pruning work , as the settlers ' last ( and presumably , best ) attempt – made three years ago – caused a premature stampede that destroyed much of their foothill croplands . Newt – complaining that Ribol has been petitioning Starfleet for help since the last stampede – demands that Kirk and crew help the Ribolians solve this problem ; after all , they supply foodstuffs for many other Federation colonies , and they ARE taxpayers . Spock postulates a possible solution . He explains that for it to work , they must capture one of the largest Dranzers they can find . Apparently they do this , and Spock and McCoy beam to the " Enterprise " and get to work . Meanwhile , Kirk persuades Newt to – reluctantly – provide some of the Ribolians ' high - speed ground vehicles . Spock and McCoy then beam down with a small container of liquid . As Spock begins to explain the plan , which involves distributing the liquid into the spray canisters on each vehicle , Henderson ' s assistant Ellie bursts in with information that the stampede has begun . There is no time to further explain the plan . Three " Control Groups " of the vehicles race out to the 2 , 000 - kilometer - long front of the stampeding herd . They begin to release the liquid in the tanks , and the herd begins to follow the vehicles . As Kirk explains to Newt , the Dranzers follow the musky scent of the herd leaders , and McCoy has synthesized a highly - concentrated version of the Dranzer musk . After a day ' s worth of travel , they manage to lead the Dranzer stampede in a circle . The stampeding animals in the front of the herd will now follow the animals in the back of the herd , until they get exhausted and die . The crops are saved for another six years , and the normal number of surviving Dranzer will continue to kill the tall grass of the hills . Newt contacts Spock and thanks him on behalf of the colony for solving the problem . Spock , however warns Henderson that since they ' ve altered the normal stampede path of the animals , their corpses – which helped fertilize the soil as they decomposed – would now have to be moved from the hill regions to the fields . Newt informs Spock that means moving some 100 million Dranzer bodies , which weigh about two tons apiece . He then turns to Kirk for further aid , but the captain reminds him that they have to help themselves as well , and suggests he coordinate the settlers to start moving the bodies once the stampede subsides , or the smell of all the decomposing bodies wafting down from the hills will be unbearable . Memorable quotes . " " I fear that government is rarely run according to scientific principles . " " " " If this doesn ' t work , they ' re going to have to scrape us off the ground . " "