ANIMAL, LIFE IN OKLAHOMA. 13 



overrun from adjoining territory. The animals are still very numerous 

 in certain parts of the State, and unless some concerted action is taken 

 to check them in the localities where they abound, they will presently 

 be doubling the damage they are now inflicting. The gopher rarely 

 is seen above the ground and as a result has few natural enemies except 

 the badger and the bull-snake, both of which have been so reduced by 

 man that now the gopher is practically free to multiply unmolested. 

 The responsibility rests entirely with the land owner; he must act now 

 or pay a constantly increasing penalty. 



RABBITS. 



The most frequently seen and best known mammals of Oklahoma 

 are rabbits. They refuse to be exterminated and are found in every 

 locality in the State. We have two kinds of rabbits — ^the large, long- 

 legged variety with athletic form, known as the jack rabbit, and the 

 much smaller rabbit, known as the cottontail. The jack rabbit frequents 

 the open plains. It does not burrow, but depends on its keen vision 

 and powerful legs to keep it out of danger. The nest is made in a 

 small, obscure depression in the ground and lined with soft wool taken 

 from the breast of the mother. The cottontail frequents the wooded 

 and more protected areas. It has short legs, wholly unfit for prolonged 

 flight, but easily makes up for this loss in swiftness and cunning. It 

 burrows well under stones or projecting roots, where it is free from the 

 usual annoyance of men and dogs. Then, too, its color so harmonizes 

 with its surroundings that it is often obliged to seek flight to avoid 

 Iseing trodden upon. Both jack rabbits and cottontails are wonderfully 

 prolific, often rearing as many as four litters during the summer. They 

 feed on grasses, grain, growing wheat, vegetables, fruit, and in winter. 

 when pressed by hunger, they sometimes gnaw the tender bark from 

 young trees. A few wisps of green alfalfa hay scattered regularly 

 about the orchard in winter is the best protection against such attacks.' 

 The wholesale destruction of hawks, owls, wolves, and coyotes has 

 removed the natural checks on rabbit production and occasionally they 

 become so numerous in certain localities as to inflict great damage on 

 the growing crops and trees. If properly oared for, their bodies can 

 be made an important contribution to the food supply of the State. 

 The men who hunt have done much to hold the rabbits in check, but 

 sometimes this is not sufiicient to keep them within the proper limits, 

 and large hunts organized on a competitive basis often result in the 

 slaughter of thousands in a single day. These hunts sometimes embrace 

 as much as one-third of a county, and the men and boys taking part 

 number into the hundreds. 



SMALL RODENTS. 



In -addition to the gnawing animals discussed above, Oklahoma 

 has the muskrat and the usual army of small rodents that exist abund- 

 antly throughout the entire State. The red and gray squirrels are 

 found wherever timber conditions make it possible for them to live, and 



