DEALING DEATH TO DAWGS.

Explode them dawgs" says the voluble Mark Mason of the Varmint Militia. He spends his vacations shooting prairie dogs for the pure joy of seeing them made airborne by the force of a .22-caliber bullet. Mason is one of the protagonists of Varmints, a Bullfrog Films' feature-length documentary by Doug Hawes-Davis about the plight of the American prairie dog, once one of the most successful mammals on the Great Plains, but increasingly one of the most endangered. Varmints might turn your stomach with its graphic imagery of exploding prairie dogs, but it's a balanced treatment, letting its interview subjects either elucidate or hang themselves. Atmospheric old government films are chilling in the intensity of their blood-lust. But as several experts point out in the film, there's just no evidence that prairie dogs interfere with farmers or ranchers.

Baboon Tales, also from Bullfrog Films, is no standard nature film. This video tells the socially-adept creatures' tale with science and genuine respect--you'll learn how baboons use humans to find water, react to infant starvation, and revere their elders for their food-finding wisdom. Both are available for rental or purchase from: Bullfrog Films, PO Box 149, Oley, PA 19547/(800)543-FROG.