Wildlife Damage Management, Internet Center for
Date of this Version
December 1979
Abstract
At the turn of the century, Texas' 'black-tailed prairie dog was probably the State's most abundant wildlife species. Bailey estimated the population at 800,000,000 animals in 1905. He also described a single colony that was 100 miles wide and 250 miles long, from San Angelo, Texas to Clarendon, Texas. During this period, other authors described riding by horseback for several days through a single colony. Settlers of this area, wishing to raise cattle, had to first control the prairie dog. My good friend, G.IJ. "Shorty" Kennedy, a retired ranch foreman and an octgenarian, described these historical control methods to me.