R-USU 



- 3 - 



9-23-32 



One look at those lon^ powerful hind le{;;s, and the little front feet or haaids, 

 and the way one of these animals can hop about on its hiiid feet like a robin, 

 makes it easy to understand how it got the name of Icangaroo rat. 



The long tail may puzzle you, t)ut it is very useful to the kangaroo rat. It 

 is long, with a long crest near the tip. That crezt is along the top and much 

 higher than it is wide. It is a first-rate rudder to help guide the kangaroo 

 rat as it leaps tlirough the air or skims along with its hind feet just touching 

 the ground now and then. 



The kangaroo rat has several other striking features, including its owl-lil:e 

 eyes, which shine at night with a light-red glow; its v/ide head to accommodate the 

 remarkable ear-pliones supposed to magnify and clarify the sounds that come through 

 the ground; and its oil glaiid on top of the shoulder which supplies the oil to keep 

 the fur soft aiid waterproof. 



Kangaroo rats are another group of American rodents that have very clcc-nly 

 habits ajid are very unlike those filthy animals, the familiar wharf or house rats 

 which slipped into this country from Surope, ajid which we generally associate with 

 the name of rat. 



On many parts of their range, Hr,. Sailey holds that the best way to keep some 

 kinds of kangaroo rats under control, is to protect their natural enemies such as 

 the hav^s, owls, foxes, and other animals that prey on them. On parts of their 

 range where these neat, clean little rodents attack crops or damage irrigation 

 ditches, _ or do serioxis damage to range grasses, however, it may be necessary for 

 man to take a liand with more strenuous control measures. You see it is largely a 

 matter of vrhat tlicsc animals eat and where, whether we count them our enemies or 

 friends. 



AITITOUITCElIElfr : Two weeks from today we will again visit with Uncle Sam's Ilat-'oralists 

 of the United States Department of Agriculture, At that time, we will hear about 

 some other pliase of the wild life in the big outdoors. 



