THEVOICEOFTHEDESERT ] Q^ 



on occasion, I have had to end a fight quickly by Hfting 

 one suddenly by the tail. Obviously they are very satis- 

 factory pets, requiring a minimum of care. With a hopper 

 of seeds there is no reason, so far as I can see, why they 

 might not be left unattended for weeks. At least there is 

 no water problem to be met. Mine have had none during 

 the three months I have had them. And that brings us to 

 Dipo's most extraordinary claim to fame. 



How absolute is the independence of water? How is the 

 seemingly impossible accompHshed? The closer these 

 questions are pushed, the more surprising the answers are. 



To begin with, one should realize that many desert ani- 

 mals, like many desert plants, can get along on far less 

 water than would suffice for the survival of most creatures. 

 Sometimes it is said that even the jack rabbit does not 

 drink, though this is so far from being absolutely true that 

 I have often seen him taking a long draught from my bird- 

 bath. Quite possibly he can get along for a long time with- 

 out any water, possibly he can get along indefinitely, but 

 he drinks gladly and deep when he gets a chance. What 

 is more important, the jack rabbit eats succulent green 

 food when he can get it and is a great depredator of flower 

 gardens when he gets a chance at them. With him it is 

 not a question of doing v^thout water but simply of get- 

 ting the comparatively little which is indispensable from 

 his food instead of in hquid form. 



The same is true in the case of many desert creatures. 

 The road runner also visits the birdbath, but since he eats 

 such other animals as snakes, lizards and mice which have 

 a good deal of water in their blood, he is in much the same 

 position as the rabbit who likes a tender watery morsel 

 when he can get it. The pack rat, another desert dweller, 



