He is to be feared most of
all because he can follow Yap Yap down into his hole. There is a
cousin of Hooty the Owl called the Burrowing Owl because it builds
its home in a hole in the ground. You are likely to find many
Burrowing Owls living in Prairie Dog villages. Also you are apt
to find Buzztail the Rattlesnake there.
"A lot of people believe that Yap Yap, Buzztail and the little
Burrowing Owl are the best of friends and often live together in
the same hole. This isn't so at all. Buzztail is very fond of
young Prairie Dog and so is the Burrowing Owl. Rather than dig a
hole for himself the Owl will sometimes take possession of one of
Yap Yap's deserted holes. If he should make a mistake and enter a
hole in which Yap Yap was at home, the chances are that Yap Yap
would kill the Owl for he knows that the Owl is an enemy. Buzztail
the Rattlesnake also makes use of Prairie Dog holes, but it is safe
to say that if there are any Prairie Dog babies down there they
never live to see what the outside world is like. So Buzztail
and the Burrowing Owl are really enemies instead of friends of
Yap Yap, the Prairie Dog."
"Why is he called a Dog?" asked Peter.
Old Mother Nature laughed right out. "Goodness knows," said she. "He
doesn't look like a Dog and he doesn't act like a Dog, so why people
should call him a Dog I don't know, unless it is because of his habit
of barking, and even his bark isn't at all like a Dog's--not nearly
so much so as the bark of Reddy Fox.
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