[peggydavis]

That's funny 6/3. I've been thinking lately how much Lawton and El Paso seem alike in some ways.

[Synopsis]

Lawton and El Paso are similar. The mountains in El Paso are much bigger, but the terrain is much the same.

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by mkfarnam

I swear a prarie dog could pass as earless rabbit. I think I'll test some people on it

He's a cute little guy. LR, how did you get so close? I know you probably used a little bit of a zoom, but if you did you sure have a steady hand.

[peggydavis]

Oh, those prairie dogs down there are quite friendly. They like to beg for food. Some of them look to be very successful!

[Synopsis]

I'll have to take my wife and daughter up there sometime. They would love it if the prairie dogs came up and begged for food. They love critters and so do I.

[LadyRobyn]

Quite friendly is an understatement... Truth be told they are a HUGE problem in that park. The place looks like swiss cheese from all of the PD dens. The city has tried some control measures, but they have been blocked by animal rights people and some federal ordinances.

I have read estimates that the PD population in the park is around 10,000! The are quite used to humans... kids chase them around and folks feed them ridiculous stuff like graham crackers.

They are a photographer's dream, but a city official's nightmare. The closest I got was about 3 feet, and I still had people walking between the dogs and me.

I have one adorable picture of a family of 4 all looking the same way, and just as I got ready to snap another pic, some kid raced past me and stuck her head IN their burrow. I got a great shot of her backside instead...

[Synopsis]

I'm all for protection of animals, as long as they don't run rampant and spread disease destroy crops and so on. It seems to me like they are in a park, and so the problem is not really that much of a problem. I did read of some baseball diamond in Lawton that was being overrun by Prairie Dogs and the city was using some kind of method to get rid of them without killing them. The holes do present a danger to kids playing baseball, after all.

All in all I just believe in the right for animals to exist as they see fit as long as they are not posing a danger to other species or humans.

I guess you could call me a tree-hugging Republican.

[LadyRobyn]

Originally Posted by Synopsis

It seems to me like they are in a park, and so the problem is not really that much of a problem.

Trust me, I am a softie too. But I am also a realist, and if you could see this place you would understand the problems they are creating...

Their dens (holes) are all along the walkways, next to the roads and many literally surround the BBQ and picnic table areas as well as the children's playground. Their burrows also run UNDER all of this stuff. You can't walk more than a few feet without running into another hole, and their holes are BIG and deep. I saw quite a few dens that I could have easily stepped into, halfway up to my knee.

The City of Lawton really is trying humane methods of control, but those are costly and VERY slow... The Prairie Dogs are breeding faster than they can capture them.

Go visit! It is a pretty park and you can see for yourself.

[Jammie]

Picture addict here had to visit to check out the pics.

Robyn, have you ever thought of marketing your wildlife photography? I have no idea how you'd go about it, but I've rarely seen such close-up and beautiful pics of wildlife.

[6 FOOT 3]

Originally Posted by peggydavis

That's funny 6/3. I've been thinking lately how much Lawton and El Paso seem alike in some ways.

Yeah thats cool to hear. I always thought that Oklahoma was just OKC and Tulsa Metros and maybe throw in Stillwater because of OSU but i looked up Lawton on wikipedia and seen it has over 100,000 in population and was like WOW........

Also i imagine the Army Post there is very large as i'm sure that along with xx amount of retirees from it stay in Lawton and retire there to add to the local population and economy.

P.S. I seen where the Main Moderator started a thread welcoming PeggyDavis as a new Moderator at the bottom of CityData forums so i added my appreciation about Peggy AND Synopsis doing a good job especially over on the other forums (El Paso) where you guys interact also.

Anyway the Oklahoma threads are up there with my homestate/hometown of New Mexico and El Paso as my 3 favorate State Forums to visit on a daily basis. Again nice Photos as ive learned alot about Oklahoma that i never knew before.

6/3