trapping was underway all day. we captured 31 prairie dogs to add to 43 captured on friday. 74 prairie dogs will make the journey to arizona for tuesday's big release event.
Spotted ground squirrels are often found in areas where prairie dogs are living (or lived, in cases where prairie dogs have been extirpated). In Arizona, they live in a variety of habitats, desert to mountain meadows. Their burrows are generally found in sandy soils. In southeastern Arizona they are associated with mesquite and acacia. In northern Arizona, they live among sagebrush and saltbush. This photo taken at the Ladder Ranch, near Truth or Consequences New Mexico. They've been observed feeding on: insects, a variety of seeds (saltbush, mesquite, sunflower, wild gourd), grasshoppers, and the pulp of cacti.
This bull elk along with another bull and a cow sauntered near our camp. Each night we could hear the elk bugling and bellowing - as bull elk attempt to establish a small herd of females.
Arizona's black tailed prairie dog translocation project is underway. We are preparing to trap prairie dogs at Ted Turner's Ladder Ranch, near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. For the next several days, we'll continue the "pre-baiting" phase, which involves baiting traps and allowing the prairie dogs to get used to entering the traps without getting caught. The bait consists of a mixture of sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and sweet oats. After about a week of pre-baiting, the traps will be set and the dogs will be caught within a couple days (theoretically). The traps we use are called "live traps" because they don't cause harm.
Last week a bit of history was made at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. A workshop was held to kick off an international effort on behalf of North American bat conservation. Sure, going out to do surveys and monitoring is important, but real progress is made when a group of people are all dedicated to a common goal. This marks the beginning of NABCA and of a more coordinated effort to make progress for bat conservation among state and federal wildlife agencies and our many partners across the continent.
