PRAIRIE DOGS (Cynomys Ludovitianus) 



These animals have received their somewhat inappropriate name 

 from the curious way in which they "bark" on the approach of 

 danger, but in reality there is nothing dog-like about them, for they 

 are social burrowing Rodents or Gnawing Mammals, not distantly 

 allied to the Marmots of the Old World. They are among the 

 most characteristic inhabitants of the great plains to the east of 

 the Rocky Mountain Highland in North America. The earth 

 thrown out from each burrow is heaped up into a mound that 

 serves as a sort of watch-tower, on which a sentry may be posted. 



The Rattlesnake or the Burrowing Owl may take possession of 

 a burrow, but the old idea that snake, bird, and prairie-dog live 

 together in the same quarters on amicable terms is quite untenable. 



