. Biological survey of Texas : Life zones, with characteristic species of mammals, birds, reptiles, and plants. Reptiles, with notes of distribution. Mammals, with notes on distribution, habits and economic importance. Zoology Texas. Oct., 1905.] MAMMALS. 185 out. A few minutes' work with his powerful claws will unearth the spermophile, while by merely enlarging the prairie-dog hole about two diameters he enters its deepest chambers and is sure of a good square meal at the end. On a ranch in the Pecos Valley I found a badger living in an alfalfa field that had been overrun w^ith prairie dogs.
. Biological survey of Texas : Life zones, with characteristic species of mammals, birds, reptiles, and plants. Reptiles, with notes of distribution. Mammals, with notes on distribution, habits and economic importance. Zoology Texas. Oct., 1905.] MAMMALS. 185 out. A few minutes' work with his powerful claws will unearth the spermophile, while by merely enlarging the prairie-dog hole about two diameters he enters its deepest chambers and is sure of a good square meal at the end. On a ranch in the Pecos Valley I found a badger living in an alfalfa field that had been overrun w^ith prairie dogs. Every morning there was at least one new hole that he had enlarged, and while he may have secured two or three prairie dogs in some of the burrows he was evidently destrojdng at least one a day. This badger was needed for a specimen, and at the earnest solicitation of the ranch people, who were afraid he would kill their. Fig. 22.—Prairie-dog burrow enlarged by badger, Pecos Valley. poultry, I finall}^ shot him as he came out about -1 o'clock one after- noon to get his supper. He had begun on a Swainson hawk that had been shot the day before. Otherwise his stomach was empty, but the lower part of his alimentary tract was full of wads of prairie- dog fur from his meal of the previous night. He was fat and had evidently been working all summer in that 20-acre field. The people had no reason to believe that he had ever killed any of their poultry, but they w^ere afraid that he Avould. There were already two badger skins hanging in the tool house on this ranch, wdiile a 20-acre field of alfalfa was rendered almost worthless by prairie dogs. When I tried to convince the owners that every badger on the ranch was. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Bailey, Vernon, 1864-1942; Merriam, C. Hart (Clinton
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