540 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



may be from an economic point of view, they are 

 among our most interesting species, and when 

 taken young their playful disposition and intel- 

 ligence render them most entertaining captives. 



Owing to the constant danger to which they 

 are subject from coyotes, foxes, bobcats, bad- 

 gers, and black- footed ferrets, in addition to 

 eagles and other birds of prey, prairie-dogs 

 are constantly on the alert. At any suspicious 

 occurrence the first to observe it runs to his 

 entrance mound, if the danger is not pressing, 

 but otherwise to the nearest mound, where he 

 sits up at his full height, "barking" and vibrat- 

 ing his tail, ready, if necessary, to disappear 

 instantly. At the same time the "town" is alive 

 with scurrying figures of the habitants rushing 

 panic-stricken for their homes, and the air is 

 filled with a chorus of their little barking cries. 

 When all have been frightened to cover bark- 

 ing continues in the burrows, but an hour or 

 more may pass before a "dog" will reappear. 



I once stalked a solitary antelope by creep- 

 ing flat on the ground through a prairie-dog 

 "town." As I drew near the first burrows, 

 the "dogs" all rushed to their mounds, sitting 

 there and barking at the queer and unknown 

 animal thus invading their precincts. The 

 strange sight excited as much curiosity among 

 them as alarm. As I approached one mound 

 after another the owners would become almost 

 hysterical in their excitement and would sit 

 first on all fours and then stand up at full 

 height on their hind feet, the tail all the time 

 vibrating as though worked by some mechan- 

 ism, while the barking continued at the intruder 

 as rapidly and explosively as possible. When 

 I came within six or ei"-ht feet the "dog" would 

 dive down his hole, sputtering barks from the 

 depths as he went, but often would pop up 

 again to take another look before finally dis- 

 appearing. In this way I passed ten or a dozen 

 mounds while the dozens of "dogs" off my 

 line of progress worked themselves into a 

 frenzy of curiosity and protest. When the 

 stalk was finished I passed back through the 

 "town" and my upright figure was promptly 

 recognized by the habitants as that of an enemy 

 and every one disappeared before I was within 

 fifty yards of the first mound. 



The common note of the black-tailed prairie- 

 dogs is a squeaking "bark," much like that 

 produced by squeezing a toy dog; in addition, 

 there is a rapid chattering note, often given 

 as the "dogs" vanish down the hole. The 

 white-tailed species have a shriller, more chirp- 

 ing note. In both species the odd vibrating 

 motion of the tail, held stiffly close to the back, 

 is characteristic. 



Prairie-dogs hibernate in severe weather, 

 those living in high, snow-covered mountains 

 or in the far north sometimes sleeping through 

 five or six months. In many places their hiber- 

 nation is irregular, and near the southern 

 border of their range is limited to a few in- 

 clement days now and then. In Wyoming they 

 come out the last of March or early in April, 

 sometimes when there is a foot or two of snow 

 on the ground and the temperature ranges far 

 below zero. Under such conditions they run 



about over the snow during the middle of the 

 day, feeding on projecting tips of vegetation 

 or digging to the ground. 



Beginning near the southern border of their 

 range and proceeding north, the single litter of 

 the season, containing from four to six young, 

 are born in March, April, or May, and a 

 month later, when scarcely larger than chip- 

 munks, may be seen playing about the entrance 

 mound. When danger appears the mother 

 sends the young helter-skelter for the refuge 

 of the burrow, and should any be slow about 

 going in she rushes at them, driving them to 

 cover with shrill barks of alarm. When about 

 half-grown the young scatter and prepare bur- 

 rows of their own. Sometimes aS many as six 

 to nine of these animals may be found in a 

 single burrow, in which, no doubt, they have 

 taken refuge, or it may be a reunion of the 

 season's family. 



On warm sunny days, especially at a time 

 when nights are frosty, these fat little animals 

 will often lie flat on the bare ground about 

 their mounds, with legs outstretched, basking in 

 the grateful rays. As their colonies expand by 

 the rapid increase of their numbers, many in- 

 dividuals wander far in search of new loca- 

 tions. On the mountain plateaus of northern 

 Arizona I know of instances where they have 

 traversed several miles of pine and fir forest 

 to locate in an isolated mountain park, and new 

 colonies were established as far as six miles 

 from their nearest neighbors. 



The flesh of prairie-dogs is not unpalatable, 

 and Navajo and Pueblo Indians are extremely 

 fond of it. The Indians take advantage of 

 heavy rains and turn the temporary rush of 

 water down the holes to drown out the "dogs," 

 and thus capture many of them. 



It is inevitable that many popular miscon- 

 ceptions should grow up about such numerous 

 and interesting animals as the prairie-dogs. In 

 the West many people believe that the burrows 

 go down to water. In reality, like many other 

 rodents, these animals have acquired the ability 

 by chemical action in the stomach to trans- 

 form the starchy food into water. I have seen 

 dog towns located on a few feet of soil resting 

 on a waterless lava bed miles in extent and 

 more than too feet thick, as shown by canyons 

 cut through it, thus proving the impossibility 

 of the prairie-dog-well legend. 



Another popular belief is that the rattle- 

 snakes and burrowing owls living in prairie- 

 dog towns unite as a kind of happy family in 

 the burrows of the dogs. The truth is that the 

 owls live and breed in deserted dog holes, while 

 the rattlesnakes visit the occupied liolcs to feed 

 on the unfortunate occupants. 



THE STRIPED GROUND SQUIRREL 

 (Citellus tridecemlineatus and its 



subspecies) 



{Por illustralioii, see page 5j5) 



Small size and a series of thirteen narrow, 

 well-defined stripes, or lines, marking the up- 

 perparts of the striped ground squirrel serve 



