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We stopped at Dwayne’s in
Bowie, AZ, to show Marilyn where we always buy the pecans that we bring home to
her. Bought pecans, pistachios, peanut
brittle and peanuts in the shell. Then grabbed stuff out of the trailer for
lunch and ate at the picnic table provided for such an occasion.
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Made reservations at the
Alamogordo KOA. I was told they are
allowed to only have 25% capacity during the time of COVID-19. Glad we made the cut.
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As we crossed into New Mexico
I could see what I thought was a dust devil up in the distance. After watching it a bit I decided it was just
the look of the mountains out there.
About a mile away from what I thought had been a dust devil we
discovered that it was a full blown dust storm.
An entire field had dust rising from it...very difficult to see the
buildings or mountains beyond it.
Thankfully it stayed confined to the field...it didn’t stray onto the
road. There had been several series of
signs about what to do in case of blowing sand; I’m glad we didn’t have to put
any of that into action. Can’t imagine
living in an area that is prone to such a dust display.
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Driving along US 70 in the
area of the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico we saw signs advising to
beware of animals. A discussion ensued
of what animals we wanted to see with my mom declaring that she didn’t want to
see any dumb deer. She could see plenty
of those at home. Well, o-kay!
Kim excitedly pointed out some elk...I
looked, Mom didn’t see them. I’m not sure those were elk, Kim. They have straight antlers...don’t elk have
sticking out antlers? I’m serious...the
antlers were straight. So I googled ‘deer
with straight antlers’ which resulted in a picture and description of an
oryx. As soon as I read ‘native to arid
part of Africa or Arabian Peninsula’ I laughed and said, “Well, so much for
that.” Kim told me to search for exotic
animals in New Mexico and what do you know but several articles about importing
Barbary sheep, ibex, and yes, the oryx popped up. One article explained it this way:
New Mexico is
blessed with a range of native big game species and hunting opportunity that
are hard to match in the West, and sportsmen must ensure that mule deer,
pronghorn and other native species get the habitat they need to thrive into the
future. But exotics provide an additional opportunity that few, if any, other
states enjoy. To many of us, oryx, ibex and Barbary sheep are a much-welcomed
chance to hunt big game.
So, how did this bonanza of exotic hunting
opportunity come about? And what are its implications for New Mexico sportsmen?
The answer to the first question is easy.
The Department of Game and Fish, back in the 1950s and ‘60s, contemplated the
introduction of non-native species to fill habitats that were perceived to be
inhospitable to native big game. Various species were investigated as potential
candidates for introduction. The three mentioned above finally won approval, as
did the Iranian ibex. Greater Kudu were considered too, but eventually were
nixed.
Blah, blah, blah....
The question is no longer whether these
species can survive far away from their native ranges, but how to control them adequately
to keep them from impacting New Mexico’s native wildlife populations.
Well, now we had to go back to see exactly
what we saw. It was less than 5 miles
and due to the absence of traffic, turning around wasn’t too difficult to do
while towing a trailer. We found ‘em and
sure enough we were looking at a herd of 10 to 15 oryx. And now, because Kim found a herd of oryx in
the middle of New Mexico Marilyn has let him off the hook for finding a
roadrunner. 😏
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Found the campground, got
set-up, and ate a hodge-podge of leftovers for supper. Alamogordo/White Sands KOA is a fairly large
campground and it looks like more than 25% of the campsites are occupied. Oh, well, we’re keeping to ourselves so I
guess that’s not an issue for us.
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