Prairie dogs have a bad reputation, and this is why: The foreground shows a nice stand of native grasses and flowers–see the last few purple asters of the season? A little prairie dog town starts where the grasses stop, and the land is stripped to nubbins of grass and bare earth. That big dark green plant growing on bare earth is an alien species of thistle that nothing eats, so it looks as though the prairie dogs remove good grasses and grow noxious weeds. No one wants these rodents around, and they’re easy to remove with poison. Today prairie dog towns are as rare ...
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I spent half an hour in a prairie dog town a few days ago. The prairie dogs are out of hibernation and wary as ever. I have to photograph them from inside the car, because they don’t register cars as a threat. I thought I could use a tripod outside the window while I stayed inside, but the prairie dogs weren’t having any of it. Then one took a wrong turn underground and popped out a hole fifteen feet away. It looked left, it looked right, and then it looked straight at my head sticking out of the car window, and ran away. I ...
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I spent some time in a prairie dog towns both Monday and Wednesday, and the whole time I was there a sentinel dog kept his eye on me. This prairie dog was looking out of the hole that was closest to me. It barely moved the whole time I was there–both times. The prairie dogs that came out of their holes were the ones that were farthest from me. This shows the general situation: the prairie dogs are putting on fat for winter, and they are stuffing food into their mouths as fast as they can. These are photos of three different prairie dogs ...
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This post has little to do with writing, websites, or anything else related to my internet activities. Instead it's a little glimpse into my family. My family loves animals, that's obvious to anyone who visits our house within a very short time. Monday of this week the menagie consisted of 2 dogs, 3 cats, 2 goats, 2 rabbits, 3 fish, a bantam hen, and a gecko. Notice that I said Monday because it's changed. On Wenesday my dad stopped by the Paris Farmer's Union and ordered chicks. In late May we will be receiving 6 barred rock hen chicks and 4 pheasant chicks. Then ...
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In Colorado, many people hate prairie dogs. Since they are easy to poison, the acreage tunnelled by prairie dogs is estimated to be about 2% of what it used to be: 98% (or more) of the prairie dogs have already been removed. Prairie dog tunnels provides homes for burrowing owls, rabbits, tortoises, and many other species. Since prairie dogs are prey, their eradication has been a problem for predators like kit foxes, eagles, hawks, and literally dozens of other animals who relied on their towns for food. Prairie dogs alter the landscape and provide a variation in habitat that many landowners dislike. Buffalo and ...
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