One little gopher made an unwise choice when he took up residence in our farmyard. This afternoon, we spotted one of the first gophers to make an appearance in the yard this spring. Our alpha cat, Galagher, spotted the little fellow out in the high grass beside the horse shed and the chase was soon on. We heard an alarmed squeak from the grass and looked up to see Galaghar in fast pursuit of the gopher. Galagher was within inches of his catch, when the gopher abruptly reversed his direction and headed back toward the horse shed. Our husky/wolf cross dog, Bear, quickly noticed what was happening and decided to become involved in the chase. Bear never moved faster, as he galloped across the field and up a small hill a paw length behind the gopher. Unfortunately, there was a barb wire fence at the top of the hill and Bear came to a dead stop when he came to that fence and of course the gopher was soon safely out of sight on the other side of the hill.
Minutes earlier we had seen a couple of hawks soaring over the yard, looking for prey. Apparently they did not see the gopher hidden in the tall grass.That little gopher was very lucky to escape pursuit, by a cat,a dog and a couple of hawks -all within a few minutes.
It was a very lucky day for that little creature and let's hope he was wise enough to pack his bags and move on to another farmyard, with fewer critters about.
- April, 2002-
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