Prairie Dogs!

[chicken]

Click on images to view bigger versions:

They were just hangin' out in a "managed" Prairie Dog sanctuary, which really didn't seem managed -- there were no park ranger-type people, and the little critters were free to roam around on the bike path and park right next to their little acreage, and in fact probably could've run right out into the oncoming traffic on the road next to it (but they didn't). This is just down the street from my mom's house in Fort Collins.





movie clip: Prairie Dog 'calling' (1.4 MB Quicktime Movie, 320x240) -- right-click or Ctrl-Click (one-mouse systems) to save and view. Do NOT try to stream it in your web browser, or it might be kind of slow. Also, note that if you amp up your volume all the way, you can hear the piercing 'chirp' call that the prairie dog makes after it rears up on its hind legs. I believe this is how they communicate across the prairie, from one burrow to the next.

Comments

[kaydee23.livejournal.com]

It's an actual vacuum that (I'm sorry) vacuums the little prairie dogs out of their burrows. It's supposedly totally safe, keeps them alive, and then they get relocated to a "Town" that wants them. I don't know how well it works:( It's supposedly humane and non-lethal.

And I think some of them get sold to pet stores to be adopted, which is a crap idea. Prairie dogs ain't anyone's kind of dog. I have actually heard of people adopting them like ferretts and raccoons, but it seems like a very very bad idea to me. They just aren't friendly. I used to try to stand kind of close to their *town* without getting *too close* and they didn't seem to like it. But it was fun to ride my bike down or walk down and watch them carrying on. I loved it when I was a kid, but now as an adult, when I go for walks near my dads house, I'm like, "Oh yeah, hey dogs," and I don't even look. (I've become cynical!)

I think that farmer would be smart to try to get his *town* protected and get some tax dollars refunded to him. He doesn't have to feed them or water them. I think he's prevented from trying to kill them, or maybe they're hard to kill. I can't remember.

They do create a network of caverns underground very quickly. Maybe they could be used by the NAVY, NSA, or the CIA???? They could go to that same school the Dolphins go to :)

I think Prairie Dogs and Meerkats are just too cute. I wonder if they're distantly related. The Meerkats do more gesticulating with their hands, but they seem so similar to me, anyway. I may need to investigate that:)

[chicken-cem.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, Meerkats are not as closely related to prairie dogs as one might think. According to Wikipedia, meerkats are more closely related to the Mongoose, and are of the order 'Carnivora' rather than 'Rodentia' (of which prairies dogs are members).

:-(

[kaydee23.livejournal.com]

That's a shame. They look so much alike.

Well, Carnivora, Rodentia, a bunch of them, or two, if you were unconscious, could eat you. Skery.

They're so cute though. I would love to have a meerkat or prairie dog pet. I just don't like the idea of being gnawed or scratched.

Oh this is soooooo off-topic. My little dog Zooey, the 4-6 pound Maltese mix (give or take her time of the month, hee)usually has *one* moment with my leg every evening at bedtime. (Over the cover, please.) Anyway, last night she was *insatiable.* She had relations with my leg 7 times!!!

Of course, her relations last 5 -10 seconds, but she usually passes out or gets very sedated afterwards.

She just wouldn't stop last night! I had to fuss at her and make her sad. She even got off the bed and slept on the floor. (To punish me.)

I called the vet, and he said, "If that's not her normal behavior; it's not normal." Huh??

[chicken-cem.livejournal.com]

So I take it Zooey isn't "fixed", then? Goodness. She must have major doggie hormones.!

[kaydee23.livejournal.com]

I was joking about *her time of the month*. Hee. She weighs 4-6 pounds, depending on how she's feeling.

She's been spayed since I got her from the SPCA in 1998. I guess she's just a little horny doggie. She did it again last night, but she finally got sleepy and nodded off.

She gets more than I do!

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

Hmm, so meerkats are closer to real dogs than to prairie dogs!

[kaydee23.livejournal.com]

Seems like they should be called meerdogs, huh? And they stand up and gesticulate. Maybe that's like a dog begging?

I saw some at the San Diego Zoo and they stood up and begged so pathetically and pleaded with their tiny hands.

Soooo cute.

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

well, they're probably about as closely related to cats as to dogs. They're all Carnivora.