Prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) - Colonist with sense of family

At first glance Prairie dogs resemble Marmots. But they are smaller and their fur is normally shorter and straighter. Like Marmots Prairie dogs are rodents and belong to the same group, the Squirrels (Sciuromorpha). Nowadays there is the existence of five Prairie dog species established. The best-known is the Black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus), the Prairie dog, which inhabited the prairies of the North American Middle West in large colonies and which also played a dominant role in many films about the prairie and its wildlife. As one can tell by its name, the Black-tailed prairie dog's last third of the tail is black. The colour of the rest of the fur varies from yellow-grey to brown with speckles. Prairie dogs are up to 35 cm long and reach weights of about 1,5 kg. According to their habitat the Prairie dogs' favourite food is grass.

Prairie dogs are famous for their huge colonies, sometimes consisting of several thousand animals. If one has a closer look, it becomes obvious that those colonies are divided into many smaller units - family groups defending their own little territories. Such groups are consisting of an adult male, one to four adult females and their young. In the centre of the family's territory is a burrow with several tunnels and chambers, which are padded with grass. In an open landscape like the prairie such refuges are very important for small animals like the Prairie dogs, the favourite prey for many predators, since there are hardly any bushes or other possibilities to hide. Around the entrance of their burrow Prairie dogs build conical mounds of earth, which may be up to 60 cm high. These mounds of earth are build more or less automatically when digging, but they are of great importance for the family. They serve as a lookout for predators. When a potential predator is detected, the Prairie dog, which made out the danger, gives a barking call. This call is the origin of the Prairie dogs' name. The own family but also families in the neighbourhood react immediatelly and hide in the burrow, mostly in a more or less provisional chamber near the entrance. The mounds of earth around the burrow's entrance still have another function: They protect the burrows from being flooded after heavy rainfalls and thus the Prairie dogs from drowning. The burrow is of great importance for the Prairie dog family especially during winter, because it is the place where they find shelter from the harsh weather. The prairie is dominated by an extremely cold continental climate during winter. The frost penetrates the soil quite deeply. For that reason the Prairie dogs' burrows are build very deep beneath the surface. A tunnel, which is up to five metres long reaches from the entrance steeply into the ground. At its end several other tunnels, ending in chambers are branching off. Although prairie dogs may stay relatively inactive inside their burrow for several weeks, it is assumed that they are not "real" hibernators.

The Prairie dog pups stay with their family for about two years. This is the age when they become sexually mature. Young males are driven away by their fathers and mostly establish an own territory at the edge of the colony. Females will join the bachelors and new Prairie dog families will be established. There is a hierarchy among the members of a family, which is determinated by harmless scraps. Otherwise Prairie dogs behave quite gentle towards each other. Welcoming behaviours are very common. Especially mouth-mouth-contact, which can be described as a kind of welcoming kiss, is very popular among Prairie dogs. Outside the mating season the families are very peaceable towards other family groups. There are neighbourly relationships so to speak.

During the last century the appearance of the prairie has changed on a large scale. Many parts of the formerly huge open grasslands have been converted to pasture land. The Prairie dogs' extensive excavations stood in the way of this conversion. Unevennesses and holes in the ground appeared as a danger to the cattle and made agriculture more difficult. So Prairie dogs were regarded as pests by farmers and ranchers, who tried to kill them wherever they could. Prairie dogs were also hunted for their meat. Although the numbers of Prairie dogs decreased due to these developments, the Black-tailed prairie dogs are still quite numerous. Their many adaptations to their hard life in the prairie and their efficient early warning system turn them into real survivalists.

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