War has moved to the cemetery in tiny Felt, Oklahoma. Felt is located in the far southwest corner of the Oklahoma Panhandle, very close to both New Mexico and Texas.
It is the locals versus the Federal Government and prairie dogs. The Bertrand Cemetery has been overrun by prairie dogs. As they dig their tunnels they are bringing human bones to the surface. Family members are very upset. To complicate matters, the Rita Blanca Grassland lies adjacent to the cemetery and is managed much like forests by Federal employees. The battle lines have been drawn in this fight and things are getting uglier by the day.
From what I understand the feds are trying to establish the black-footed ferret's population and that is keeping the locals from poisoning the prairie dogs. A good tried and true way to control the little boogers, by the way.
The ferret could help out a little, however. Some estimate that a female ferret can kill and consume upwards of a 1000 prairie dogs in the process of whelping and raising her litter.
By the time the ferret population gets up and running we'll be knee deep in ferrets instead of prairie dogs.
My suggestion is a sunny fall afternoon, a thermos of coffee, a scoped .22 and a lookout for the "grass police". Prairie dogs are a blast to 'plink'...
If It Is War You Want
Use an AR-15. A 22 has limited range, the 223 has no sweat at 300 yards if you are any good with a scope.
Paul in PA
If It Is War You Want
The .17HMR is also a perfect prairie dog control method. Little bullet, but more than enough powder.
If It Is War You Want
> The .17HMR is also a perfect prairie dog control method. Little bullet, but more than enough powder.
I second that choice;-)
.50BMG
Then there's no cleanup!
I can get 50 at time with my punt gun.
But only ONCE
If I've got to fire that thing. That should have a gun carriage on it.
Andy
I just can't condone this war on the prarie dog. I see it as misguided. I'm a hunter and I kill only to eat. Too kill critters for pleasure is immoral. Flame away. I don't care.
FINE I guess I'll have to eat em then...
Interesting. Not too far from my area. Them critters are a pain and knowing the mentality of the rangers for Rita Blanca, not surprised. Maybe it will become major headlines! But they are just bones! Who knew they would tunnel 6±ft down!
I kill for both sport and eating. What I don't eat I give to my friends, for instance I don't like to eat duck but I love the hunt, so I give them to my buddies.
However at some points I think killing for sport can be a great thing all around. In here in Utah there are some places with way more prairie dogs than the environment can handle and there are not near enough natural predators such as coyotes and hawks.
So me as a conservationist I think that prairie dogs would be far better off instantly dying on the surface where other animals can scavenge and eat them and their body can decay and put nutrients back into the topsoil rather than slowly starving to death deep under ground in a den with 90 other prairie dogs where they suffer and the corpse benefits no other animal or plant.
Just another way of looking at it.:-D
Williwaw
I understand your feelings. Prairie dogs are really cute little rodents you could watch for hours (and I have). But they have a tendency to over-populate and can trash a quarter section in just a few seasons. They destroy the ground cover and undermine the substrata. A few good gully washers can turn good pasture or farmland into a mess of blow-outs and ravines all too quick. They can really be an expensive pest.
I have a lot of respect for our fellow critters. I have no mercy on the yellow jackets that tried to take up residence right above my mailbox. Sometimes I think the fact prairie dogs are mammalian...and cute..keeps their pest status questionable to some folks.
And if you think those little doggies can trash a good alfalfa field, you ought to see what wild hogs can do in one night's rooting.
surface where other animals can scavenge and eat them and their body can decay and put nutrients back into the topsoil
One problem with that theory are that they eat each other, that's why there are so many dead ones on the highway, one gets run over then two go out to feed on it and they get run over and so on.
You learn quick not to swerve to avoid them, also they carry the plague more so than any other animal. It will wipe out hole towns of them, from what I see they sure aren't in any danger of being endangered any time soon, I'd say they are thriving.
Paden
Do you remember that map you posted a few months ago?
I showed that to my neighborhood bartender; he says the concentration of cases in that area is because of Shirley MacLaine's efforts to stop prairie dog shooting in New Mexico.
I googled it but came up short; maybe he didn't know what he was talking about....
It is a fact, though; prairie dogs carry fleas that transmit the disease.
Williwaw
Has nothing to do with cute Paden. I'm no bleeding heart but I don't think there is anyone here who doesn't get a thrill out of seeing a raptor, whether it's a Golden or a Red Tail. High velocity lead bullets fragment on impact. Raptors and other predators see a shot or poisoned prarie dog as a free lunch and get lead poisoning from consuming them. That's what led to the demise of the California Condor. The very predators that keep these animals numbers in check are getting poisoned off, leaving the only solution of more lead and more poison, a vicious circle. That's what I refer to as 'misguided'. If you're going to shoot them, use a copper round.
