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Idaho’s Easter Bunny – The Pygmy Rabbit F&G News Release Spring is officially here, which means it’s time once again for the shy and retiring rabbit to endure its brief stint in the Easter spotlight. For centuries, rabbits have served as symbols of springtime renewal and fertility, owing to their ability to produce many offspring. Over time, a melding of folkloric and religious beliefs created the Easter Bunny, deliverer of baskets brimming with colored eggs and chocolate for good children everywhere. But not all rabbits are as famous, wide-ranging, or prolific as “Peter Cottontail.” At the other end of the spectrum is the pygmy rabbit, the smallest rabbit in North America and possibly the smallest rabbit in the world. Harkening back to 1890, in the “plains and valleys covered with sage” of Idaho’s majestic Pashimeroi Valley, zoologist C. Hart Merriam encountered a new species that “requires
comparison with no other rabbit, its small size, short head, apparent absence of tail... distinguish it at a glance from all previously known species.” Merriam named this diminutive animal the pygmy rabbit. Pygmy rabbits are found in very patchy distributions in areas with dense, mature sagebrush and deep, soft soils suitable for digging their elaborate burrow systems. Pygmy rabbits are considered “sagebrush obligates” because they require sagebrush to survive. Sagebrush provides protective cover and an important food source for the tiny rabbit, comprising up to 99% of its winter diet. Most herbivores shy away from foraging on sagebrush, which is laden with volatile oils. But the pygmy rabbit has evolved a specialized digestive system to cope with these toxins. In the decades after Merriam’s Expedition, mammalo-
gists and naturalists generated a trickle of reports describing general characteristics of pygmy rabbits and gradually extended the known range of the species to include the sagebrush deserts of seven westerns states. By mid-20th century, researchers gleaned more details on the species’ life history, behavior, and habitat relationships. These studies identified the pygmy rabbit as a habitat specialist tied to sites of tall, dense big sagebrush and deep soils. By connecting these dots, researchers keyed in on the major limiting faccontinued on page 8.....
Schubert Theatre Spaghetti Dinner Saturday, April 19th – 5 to 7:30 p.m.
at the Gooding War Memorial Hall (203 3rd Ave W. – Gooding) Come and Support the fundraising effort to restore the Schubert Theatre
April 16
,2014
Volume 38 ~ Number 16 News from the Heart of Idaho Camas • Lincoln • Gooding
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NCMC Mammography Receives $10k Grant The North Canyon Medical Center Mammography Department is proud to announce that NCMC has received a $10,000 grant from Susan G. Komen, Idaho. The hospital and Komen, Idaho have nearly a decade of grant history with approximately $70,000 being granted to the hospital through the years. These funds are vital to NCMC Mammography, as they allow the hospital to offer breast health services for women that find themselves in a time of financial hardship. The Komen Grant funds are used for screening and diagnostic mammograms as well as diagnostic breast ultrasounds. Idaho currently ranks 51st “dead last” in the Nation for women (over the age of 40) receiving their annual screening mammogram. It is critical we get Idaho women in for their annual mammogram and utilize the grant funds if they do not have the means to pay for the mammogram. The NCMC Mammography Team consists of 3 registered mammographers (1 with bilingual skills), and a bilingual radiologist with 20+ years of experience in reading mammograms and breast ultrasounds. For more information, please call Jamie at 208-9344433 ext. 1112.