I am always amazed at the variety of wildlife in the area around the Cheyenne Bottoms and Quivira. Something odd pops up with surprising regularity. It provides things to amaze us, educate us, and put another layer of pride in the goodness of our farmers and ranchers who admire and protect their land and these creatures as they visit or travel across our area. It has also let me meet some of these humble heroes that accommodate strangers with such regularity.
One of my best friends called and asked if I had seen the antelope west of Great Bend. No, I hadn’t. I picked him up and we traveled out to have a look. Sure enough, we found the doe with two kids that have been hanging out apparently since June in an alfalfa field.
We were sitting on the road with our binoculars when a gentleman drove up and checked us out to make sure we weren’t up to no good. That is a characteristic of landowners around here. If your vehicle isn’t familiar, you can bet that the landowner or one of his good neighbors will inquire about your intentions. It is sad that thieves and drug dealers and users have made such careful surveillance a necessity. These citizens make neighborhood protection a high priority.
I got to meet a really nice man who has watched over these antelope on his land for all these months. He knew their travel paths, their place to get water (the mother always leaves the kids a safe distance from the water source and comes in by herself) and where they slept. That made me do a little research on the drinking habits of antelope — look that up — I was somewhat amazed by what I found. It was such a pleasure to meet this landowner and hear his stories about bobcats and their young that inhabit his land. Other species that he interacts with every day are also at home on his property.
It is a generic quality of our landowners to protect the livestock and wild critters with equal care and it is incorporated into their daily routines. I like that a lot. There is a very basic nurturing and protective mindset ingrained in these farmers and ranchers that I find inspirational and almost religious. It makes me proud and humble to say “thanks” to all of you folks that make Kansas great all the time!
Just a quick parallel thought. This gentleman discussed with obvious pride the processes of protecting his property. He admires the law enforcement and game warden officers that respond when there is a concern. Our county law enforcement and game wardens are stretched a bit thin and deserve all our support and respect. I am more concerned now that I know some of the really bad stuff happening in our rural areas. Everyone keep your eyes and ears open and let them know if you hear or see something! Say “thanks” when you see them! Too many officers across our country are dying with far too much regularity — it is frightening.
We got a distant picture of the antelope and started our trip back to Great Bend. About a mile down the road we happened upon a Magpie sitting on a bale. We don’t see very many of these elegant cranky birds this far from the mountains. I can remember hanging an elk in the barn in Colorado. I had skinned it and was going to let it cool overnight before completing the processing of the meat. I was cleaning my knives and such in another shed when I heard a lot of noise in the area of my hanging elk. About 30 Magpies flew out of the barn and there were holes eaten out of that elk large enough to accept a pencil. They can go through a carcass in short order. I went ahead and finished the elk so I could get it in the freezer. Lesson well-learned!
We have had several “odd” birds at the Bottoms and Quivira, an elk that lived south of Great Bend for a while, a mule deer in the Bottoms last month and armadillos along the roads in the Bottoms. I am sure a lot of you can add another creature or bird to the list and it thrills me to get those pictures.
My thanks to the landowners that allow me to take pictures and go on their land. I am very much aware of that courtesy and do my best to join you in protecting our resources and private property and your gates closed. Watch closely for those “odd” critters that visit us in Kansas!
Doc
Doctor Dan Witt is a retired physician and nature enthusiast.
