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Show ! DEATH TRAP FOR- ANIMALS i . I Tar-Swamp in California Estimated by Scientists to Ee of'lncal- culable Age.' Near tht city of Los Angeles there exists a tar-swamp in which animals and birds have been mired and trapped since the dawn of the quaternary quater-nary epoch, says John C. Merriam, writing in Harper's Weekly. But it was not until recently that the bones ! found' therein were discovered to be remnants of prehistoric animals, in- i ! eluding the extinct great .wolf, Ameri- J can lion, saber-tooth tiger, camel, ele- j phant, etc. "The relatively great num- I bcr of' carnivorous animals," he writes, "which is the most striking feature "of-the' Rancho-La Urea fauna, ia undoubtedly' to be accounted for in a' large part through the luring of carnivores into tha' asphalt by any cfeatures which may have been entrapped en-trapped in the tar. Such living bait, by its struggles and cries, would undoubtedly un-doubtedly ctti act 'cats or. wolves and , not improbably several carnivores might be led into the asphalt by the same bird, bi.-;on or colt. It is easy to imagine an animal caught in the' black ooze surrounded by a group of tar-besmeared wolves, each trying to make- a meal of the unfortunate creature crea-ture that drew him in, at the same time fighting with the others and attempting at-tempting to' extricate himself from the tar." I |