- There we are.
What are you doing that for, Daddy?
I'm trying to record
their sound. Now:
Here comes Mr. Clark...
...so why don't you girls
go down and meet him.
Okay, okay. Our daughter expresses
a precocious interest in zoology...
...and all you can say is:
Actually, your father was playing
the overture from Hair.
You know how bats love Hair.
Now, you go play, sweetheart.
- Hi, Uncle Elgin.
- Hi, Amanda.
- How are you, Gerry?
- Fine. How are you?
Fine, thank you.
Good morning, Roy.
You hear it? That's the cry of fear.
Now, if we can just chase them away
with that sound of fear...
...we'll be able to control
their entire flight.
Say, what do you plan to do
with them then?
By introducing them into areas
infected with mosquitoes...
...they'll be able to do
the same job that DDT does...
...without the side effects.
I see. Well, that brings me
to a favor, Roy.
Cole Hillman, he's a rancher
about 50 miles north of here...
...he rather put A&M on the map...
...that is, at least in football
back in the '40s.
And he does some scouting
and fundraising for us.
Well, he's really got a problem.
A rabbit explosion.
Now, he's fighting like the devil
to keep them out of his irrigated land...
...but they've already eaten the range
right out from under his cattle.
Rabbits aren't exactly Roy's bag.
Cole Hillman's on your side, Roy.
He's trying to avoid poison.
Well, good for him.
But once those rabbits spread out...
...the other ranchers will bomb
this whole country with cyanide.
All right, then. We'd better take
a run up there this weekend.
I'd rather you did it today.
Mommy.
I like rabbits, Mommy.
Out here in the Southwest
they're called Sylvilagus.
These are all different.
There's a fella that lives
south of here about 10 miles...
...he used to raise domestic rabbits.
But he had a fire, and a couple
a hundred of them got away.
So these are mongrels.
They have plagues of rabbits
down in New Zealand and Australia.
Now, how'd they get rid of those?
They've used poison, for one thing.
But the poison killed the birds...
...and that resulted in a plague
of grasshoppers, just as bad as the rabbits.
If I sprayed poison, I'd have to pull
my cattle off the range...
...and dump them on the market
at the worst time of the year.
Might be another way
to whip this problem, Cole.
- How?
- Hormones...
...which would interrupt
their breeding cycle.
Or a disease that would affect
only the rabbits.
How long can you hold out
before using the cyanide?
Six or eight weeks,
until the young ones show up.
I'll tell you what I'd like to do.
I'd like to get about a dozen
of these adults and run some tests.
That's simple.
Just open the back of your camper
and they'll hop right in.
- Can I have these?
- You bet.
Wish I had my own pony.
My dad gave him to me.
You can ride him sometime,
if you want to.
I'd like that.
What happened?
A rabbit bit me,
that's what happened.
You don't have to punch any holes
in that can, as far as I'm concerned.
Better have that finger looked at.
The bite of the Lepus, that's the
Latin word for rabbit, can be dangerous.
Well, Dr. Dirkson, I certainly appreciate
your interest in this particular problem.
Well, I'm interested
in your experiment.
- Keep me posted.
- I certainly will.
Poor thing.
- Mommy.
- What, hon?
What's a control group?
Well, they get the same care as the others,
but they don't get any of the medicines.
Roy.
Step aside, darling.
What's the matter with him, Mommy?
Well, we were trying to make...
...Jack a little more like Jill
and Jill a little more like Jack...
...so they wouldn't keep having
such large families.
Simply can't shoot them
full of hormones...
...without setting
their nervous system into shock.
It can mean months developing
the right lab procedure.
Well, nothing seems to work.
On the other hand...
...here's something I know
they've never been