Prairie Dogs live in large 'towns' with complex interconnecting tunnel systems. The individual whose turn it is to be 'lookout' stands on a mound and barks a warning that makes the entire community dive into their burrows. A few feet down is a 'listening chamber' where the animals pause and wait for the 'lookout' to broadcast an 'all clear' signal. Sometimes they must wait many years.
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The Nine-banded Armadillo has the unique ability to cross small waterways by holding its breath and walking across the bottom, weighted by its heavy shell. When threatened, the armadillo may fall on its side and curl into a ball. Occasionally armadillos curl too tightly and are unable to stop the constricting muscles. They curl and curl until they disappear entirely. |
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Wood Rats are attracted to shiny objects and will collect small fragments of glass and metal, earning them the nickname 'pack rats'. The rats stare for hours at their little piles of shiny things and essentially hypnotize themselves. In this state their heart rates drop and they can survive for months without food or water, sometimes hovering inches above the ground.
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For short-distance navigation and catching food, Bats use a sophisticated method of echolocation similar to that used by dolphins. Bats send out high-pitched sounds that bounce off their prey and return almost instantaneously to the bat's complex ear formations. Humans, unfortunate enough to be within hearing range of the batıs scream, often return home to find that everyone is lying to them and people have been in their room going through their stuff. |
Red-tail Hawks need a great amount of protein and calcium therefore they eat the whole bodies of prey such as small mammals and birds. Since the hawk can not digest bones and fur, it will eject a pellet of these left-over materials after eating. This behavior is usually triggered at dawn. However a bright moon can also act as trigger. When pellets are ejected under moonlight the pellet can become 'animated' --jerking and dancing, sometimes even limping into town, scratching at doors, begging to be let inside.
When threatened, Horned Lizards have the ability to shoot a stream of blood (up to three feet or more) at predators from the corners of their eyes. Horned lizards are often the cause of so-called 'crying paintings'--images of the Madonna or Jesus that cry tears of real blood. |
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© Rennie Sparks
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