On a trip last month to the grasslands of South Dakota, the presence of abundant black-tailed prairie dogs was a highlight.
We were lucky to be there in mid-May, only about a month after the adult females had given birth. They produce one litter per spring, with usually three or four young.
Below, the mother is on the right with her three young ones.
Here you can see the mother with her little one leaping in the background.
It is fun to watch them because they are fast, mischievous and energetic.
Prairie dogs are rodents in the squirrel family, and in South Dakota they are primarily found in the state’s west. The population is considered stable in the state, although the overall population has drastically declined with the loss of prairie habitats. See range map at end.
Found in the Great Plains of North America, Cynomys ludovicianus are often considered a nuisance to ranchers but they are an important element of healthy prairies.
In 1804, millions of prairie dogs co-existed with other plants and animals on the Great Plains. Their colonies stretched from Canada to Mexico. Lewis and Clark wrote about them, and later, John James Audubon created an artistic series “The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America” that included the Prairie Dog, below. Plate 99 from 1845.
Today, black-tailed prairie dog colonies cover just one percent of their historical range.
They are considered a keystone species, i.e. they have a disproportionately large effect on the prairie environment and play a critical role in its success. Without keystone species, an ecosystem can cease to exist.
Their abandoned burrows provide shelter and protection for other animals, predators depend on them for survival, their constant digging provides soil aeration, and their grass-eating upkeep develops healthy grasslands.
They have colonies, also called towns, that are recognizable by the mounds at the burrow entrances. In the prairie dog town pictured below, there is one upright prairie dog visible, several running, and many mounds.
There are hundreds of prairie dog mounds in the photo below, as well as a herd of bison. The mounds look like sandy patches in the green grass.
Bison use the dusty mounds for wallowing, take dust baths to relieve skin irritations. Many times we saw bison wriggling on their backs, all four legs suspended in the air.
A prairie dog colony will typically have 30-50 burrow entrances per acre.
The tunnels are about 3-6 feet (1-2 m) below the surface and about 15 feet (4.5 m) long. Burrow systems have several chambers, including one near the surface where the prairie dog can sit and listen for activity.
Burrows are used for breeding, rearing young, and hiding from predators and are maintained from generation to generation.
More info: Black-tailed Prairie Dog, Wikipedia
One day in The Badlands we found three different burrowing owls on prairie dog burrows.
Prairie dogs are 12-16 inches (30-40 cm) in length and weigh 1-2 pounds (0.5-1.5 kg). They have short, muscular legs and long claws, perfect for their burrowing lifestyle.
They eat a wide variety of grasses and forbs.
Prairie dogs have excellent hearing and have an elaborate communication system and sophisticated social structure. They have at least 11 different alarm calls identifying the immediate threat.
This video link below gives you an idea of their barking sounds for which they are named.
Link: YouTube Video Barking Prairie Dogs.
Unfortunately these little cuties have a lot of predators. Black-footed ferrets, badgers, bobcats, golden eagles, some hawk species and rattlesnakes prey on them.
Their most common predator is coyotes. This coyote, below, was in pursuit of something else, but the prairie dogs were intensely aware of it and staying close to their burrows.
When prairie dogs sense danger there are several mechanisms we witnessed, in addition to the barking.
One is the jump-yip display. The animal will stretch its body vertically and throw its forefeet into the air while calling.
But since they are quite small and their voices so shrill, it looked more like a small, trained animal doing a trick…a little bitty back flip.
Also, the young ones, when scared, had a three-part behavior, shown below. They would scurry back to their burrow, look around.
Then they would remain upright and vigilantly bark, the little tail twitching with each squeak.
Then they hunched down, belly to the ground (below).
And then they flattened completely.
On the day it rained, we were surprised to find the prairie dog town had no prairie dogs in sight. Where it had been active the day before, on this rainy day it looked abandoned.
Even in South Dakota where there are bitter winters, these colonies do not migrate. They don’t even entirely hibernate.
The animal puts on fat and stores food in the burrows. Sometimes they leave the burrow to forage, and at night will enter a state of torpor (lowered metabolism) to conserve energy. They typically lose twenty percent of their body weight during the fall and winter.
But in the spring the big open skies were often blue with puffy, white clouds and prairie dogs were running in every direction.
Their busy lives and social existence were in full swing.
Written by Jet Eliot.
Photos by Athena Alexander.
Jet Eliot 
Even tho they’re rodents, so neat to see Prarie Dogs and their mounds. I never knew bison took dirt baths and how great t o watch them do that. That’s a lot of dirt 😳
It was fun to watch the ankle-high prairie dogs coexisting with the gargantuan bison. I enjoyed your comment, Bill, and as always, really appreciate your visit today.
Fascinating photos and story. So much new to learn and see. 🙏
Miriam
Lovely to “see” you today, Miriam, thank you for your kind words.
They’re cute. Great post and introduction to the Black-tailed Prairie Dogs, Jet.
Thank you, Deborah. Prairie dogs are a fun species to share, I’m glad you enjoyed it.
This was an interesting post! I enjoyed the pictures and especially like the one with the mother and the three little ones just in front of her and they’re looking to the right. Thanks for sharing this information 🙂
The prairie dogs are such fun creatures to watch and they have an interesting social structure, too. I am happy you enjoyed today’s post, Book Club Mom, and really appreciate your visit.
I remember seeing them in some of my western travels but didn’t do all the research you’ve done. Thanks for the education and reminder how cute and interesting they are Jet.
One of the things I like about writing these essays is learning more and sharing it. Thanks very much, Brad, I’m glad to share these fun little animals with you. And I’m glad you have seen them.
They were fun to watch and listen to the calls.
The map you showed suggests they are not in Canada Jet?
think one of the biggest predators are humans. When I lived in Alberta many ranchers would shoot them! They justified it by saying the holes would break their horses legs.
I think they just liked killing them personally.
Hi Wayne. The map I provided was only for the U.S. and only for this species. I’m guessing there are more in the vast prairies of Canada. And I agree with you on the latter discussion. Always great to see you, my friend, thank you.
I love your photos and information. I’ve heard the are a keystone species too. Thanks 👍😘
Thanks so much, Sherry. Keystone species are so important. Lovely to see you today.
Great article on prairie dogs! We have had them as pets and they are the sweetest, most loving and social animals. They love to cuddle in your arms. I am a retired biologist and dealt with one that was released on New York’s Fire Island which gives me the idea of doing a blog on the story of Fire Island Phil aka Philamena.
Thanks, Gary, I’m glad you stopped by and enjoyed the prairie dogs.
They are cute little guys. When the city was developing the far northeast part of the city in the early nineties, they needed to try and relocation a lot of prairie dogs. They hired a guy with a prairie dog vacuum truck to vacuum up the prairie dogs and relocate them. The guy managed to vacuum up two prairie dogs. He blamed it on how they structured their holes so he could get a good seal. I don’t know what they did in the end, but the area has been covered with houses for years.
I have to say that’s a pretty strange idea…chuckling…to vacuum up prairie dogs. No wonder he only got two. I love knowing that the prairie dog burrows could withstand it, Tim. I really liked this quirky story, thank you.
I thought you would like that story. There always seems to be something strange happening in Albuquerque.
Great images Jet and really interesting facts and history – I wasn’t expecting a prairie ‘dog’ to look like this!
When you haven’t had the experience of seeing prairie dogs, as you wouldn’t in the UK, I can see how the image would totally not fit with the name. I liked hearing your perspective, Andrea, a lot, and am glad I could bring clarity to that little nugget of information. My warmest thanks.
My comment will be the same as most, but I can’t help it. They are SO cute!
I know, Anneli, it may be what others think, that the prairie dogs are cute, but they just really are! Lovely to hear from you today, thank you.
Very enjoyable and enlightening post, Jet! I googled their jump-yip display… hilarious! Thank you so much for sharing your experiences, delightful photos, and informative graphics.
I love knowing that you looked up the jump-yip, dear Nan. When Athena and I first saw it we were puzzled. Then it happened more and often when one starts they all do it, so it was a mysterious phenomenon to us until I looked it up. Thanks so much for your very kind words and visit. Sending lots of love.
They are so adorable. Like Bison, they need a lot of habitat restoration to make a comeback.
Yes, that’s right, Eliza. I’ve read that there are Native American groups who are actively involved in reviving the prairie dog populations. How fortunate we are, eh? Thanks so much, always a pleasure to see you.
Aren’t they the cutest!
They truly are the cutest, GP. Wonderful to see you, thanks for your visit.
They’re so cute but I can understand why ranchers aren’t so happy with them!
Yes, I understand, too, Jan. I’m glad I don’t have to make those decisions. Thanks very much, Jan.
They look like a larger version of our many chipmunks!
You’re spot on there, cj, because chipmunks are also rodents in the squirrel family, like the prairie dogs. Wonderful to have you stop by, thank you.
Good post, photos and information Jet and Alexander. Peggy and I really enjoy the prairie dogs and their antics when we travel through the Dakotas. I’m particularly taken by the ones that have put on fat for winter. Such chubby things they are! We haven’t been there during the ‘puppy’ season, however. Their antics must be a kick to watch!
Thank you, Curt. Yes the prairie dog puppy season was really fun to watch. I’m glad I could share a bit of it with you here today.
Appreciated!
In SD they call them “Varmints”! Ours are the Gunnison prairie dogs. I don’t live near any – not a bit of habitat anywhere close to my house. Imagine my astonishment when one came trotting toward me in my backyard one day! He turned tail and took off, never to be seen again. Dropped by a hawk, perhaps? A mystery. Burrowing owls are way cool.
I liked your story of the prairie dog finding you in your backyard, Eilene. You described it well, gave me a smile. And I, too, think burrowing owls are so very cool. We were thrilled to find three. Thank you.
I just heard a PD joke…. Two prairie dogs were sitting next to each other.
One asked the other, “I really like Ms. Burrows, should I ask her out?” The other prairie dog said, “Gopher it.”
Fun prairie dog joke, Chuckster, thanks!
The Prairie dogs are so cute to watch and learn from! Love Mother Nature Jet 🩷☘️
Thank you, Karen, I’m glad you enjoyed the prairie dogs. They are adorable little creatures, aren’t they.
I love the fact that you include the flashy and the more ordinary things here. I mean, bison are cool, but there is more out there. I swear I saw prairie dogs in south central Utah once, too. It’s not on your map, so I could be wrong. They’re much bigger than our ground squirrels.
Thank you, Craig. I do take an interest in all the life around me and I know you do, too. And for both of us, there’s even lots more that gets created in our heads. It’s fun. We have ground squirrels here that look a lot like the prairie dogs, so what you saw in Utah might’ve been a ground squirrel native to UT? Cheers and my warmest thanks.
Awwww I love prairie dogs! We have some around here too. They’re so cute and so much fun to watch. I love all the photos of the babies.
Thank you, Diana. They are a really sweet creature to observe, and I’m happy you enjoyed the photos.
So wonderful photo of nature and Prairie dogs photo amazing ,first time seeing
😍 Thank you for sharing 🌹💖🙏 happy weekend 👏🌹
Thank you, Thattamma, so much. I am so happy to share these fun little prairie dogs with you. Hello to you in India.
I’m in Malaysia living 🌷😊✌🏼thank you so much for lovely comment message and most welcome my dear friend 💗👏
Thank you for letting me know you live in Malaysia, Thattama. 🙂
🌷🙏💕🥰🌷
These are such cute little critters. 🙂 You got some excellent shots, Athena.
Thanks so much, LuAnne. Athena was absolutely thrilled with the prairie dogs and took 300 photos of them, and we are both pleased with her results. I’m glad you are too, LuAnne.
It was very interesting learning so much about prairie dogs — thank you, Jet! I especially loved the pictures of the mother with her three little ones, and those little tails in the last pictures were adorable and quite expressive.
Yes, the prairie dogs were adorable and expressive and I am glad to hear that came through in the photos. Thank you, Barbara, for your kind words.