BY JASMYN BEMBOOM
Staff Writer
Humans have a long history of digging wells, but we’re not the only ones to tap the earth for water. The animals can use their hooves to dig more than six feet deep to reach groundwater for themselves, in turn creating oases that serve as a boon to wildlife.
The scientist found that a total of 57 species came to these equine- created wells to drink: raptors, such as red-tailed hawks and cooper’s hawks: smaller birds such as yellow warblers, hooded orioles and scrub jays. They put up a camera at nearby spots without wells, to serve as scientific controls and determine the influence of the wells in drawing wildlife. The researchers also mapped out open water sources in the areas surrounding their study sites and found that the well digging equines increased accessible surface water density by up to 14 fold.
Micheal Bogan said, “It’s really cool these researchers actually quantify how much water (the horses and donkeys) are putting on the landscape and how its distributed.” Bogan suspected the behavior in the desert with the loose sand and the gravel, where the water is buried at a relatively shallow level.
Hopefully, the animals will be able find water for themselves before they get dehydrated, but it seems to me that they are smart enough to go out and look for water on their own.