DEATH IN THE AFTERNOON:
It was feeding time at the Railyard when the bodies were discovered on June 2. TC Gritt-a volunteer with People for Native Ecosystems-was busy "fattening up" the prairie dogs in the Railyard with alfalfa pellets, grain and sunflower seeds in advance of a vast relocation project that will eventually transport the dogs to the Sevilleta Wildlife Preserve.
It was around noon when Gritt stumbled upon the crime scene next to the caboose that sits near the intersection of St. Francis Drive and Cerrillos Road. Somebody had dumped a large amount of tar on and around the entrance to the prairie dog underworld. Two dogs were already dead on the ground. One was still alive and struggling in the inky black mess.
Gritt rushed the sodden critter to Smith's Veterinarian Clinic. But it was already too late.
"Unfortunately, we had to have him euthanized," Gritt says. "He was already struggling with the toxic reaction. It was really, really sad."
Denise Saccone, director of the Keystone Species Preservation Committee, says the PNE has no suspects and has yet to establish a motive.
"We have absolutely no idea who did it," Saccone says.
"It could have been someone illegally dumping or the intent could have been to hurt the prairie dogs. The tar is toxic both to humans and wildlife and it needs to be removed before it hurts anyone else."
Gritt says the PNE can't remove the tar itself because the Railyard is City property and inquiries to the City's Railyard Project Manager Frank Romero have gone unanswered. Gritt says she covered the tar with dirt and mulch in an attempt to keep other prairie dogs from getting stuck in the quagmire. For now she is left to wonder just how many members of the Railyard prairie dog population-estimated in the hundreds-will be affected before the relocation process begins in earnest on June 20.
"It really disturbs me that somebody would do that, period," Gritt says. "But it really saddens me to think that somebody might have done it intentionally to hurt the prairie dogs. It makes me sick." (ND)
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