Day 15 – The Keystone of Prairie Life



You may think that the keystone animal of the prairie would be the mighty bison… or the soaring golden eagle… however those are not considered the most important species on the prairie. What is? Well, that would be the little prairie dog!





Although a person would not think that these cute little critters are such an important part of an ecosystem, it turns out they really are. The prairie dog provides meals for the predators such as the coyote, eagle, and ferret. In addition, the burrows dug by prairie dogs become snug homes for burrowing owls and the black faced ferret. Which means those prairie animals take over the burrow after evicting the prairie dog who dug it. Also, their burrowing loosens the prairie soil allowing the roots of plants to take hold.


While driving through prairie lands you can see areas that have whole prairie dog villages with the active villagers running between burrows or standing up and surveying the area. It is said that they were first called prairie dogs because they make barking sounds. Well, it doesn’t sound like a bark to us, more like a squeaky chirp. 


When you listen to the video, how would you describe the sound of this little guy?



As you can see, although not an imposing creature, the prairie dog is an important cog in the ecology of the prairie. And they are just so darn cute!

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