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Post by frank on Apr 26, 2018 14:54:34 GMT -5
During a day trip through the New Mexico Jemez mountains we stopped at a the Valles Caldera National Preserve and saw literally hundreds of these Gunnison's prairie dogs in many individual colonies. Prairie dog next to burrow  |
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Post by Ira Runyan on Apr 27, 2018 5:06:09 GMT -5
Nice capture, Frank.
How big is a Prairie Dog?
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Post by frank on Apr 27, 2018 9:59:03 GMT -5
The largest ones appeared to be about 12 inches in height. They really are cute little critters. We have often seen, on BLM lands, vehicles parked off road in the vicinity of prairie dog colonies for the sole purpose of using the prairie dogs for target practice ... unfortunately this "so called sport" is legal.
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Post by Ira Runyan on Apr 28, 2018 6:06:14 GMT -5
The largest ones appeared to be about 12 inches in height. They really are cute little critters. We have often seen, on BLM lands, vehicles parked off road in the vicinity of prairie dog colonies for the sole purpose of using the prairie dogs for target practice ... unfortunately this "so called sport" is legal. I just read that "Because they eat as much as 7 percent of a ranch's forage, prairie dog eradication programs have been underway for decades in the American West." which is probably why this "so called sport" is legal. |
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Post by Tim Abbott on Apr 28, 2018 11:39:16 GMT -5
Thanks Frank.
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Post by frank on Apr 28, 2018 15:06:43 GMT -5
The ranches are private lands and ranchers do what they need to insure the well being of their cattle. The BLM (Bureau of Land Management) lands are public and the prairie dogs are an integral part of the ecology.
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