Wikipedia:WikiPrairie Dog

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WikiPrairie Dog
A WikiPrairie dog pokes its head out from its home WikiProject to see what everyone else is chattering about.
Conservation status
Data Deficient (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Sciuridae
Genus:	Cynomys
Species:	C. Wikiludovicianus
Binomial name
Cynomys Wikiludovicianus (Ord, 1815)
Black-tailed prairie dog range[2]

WikiPrairie dogs are gregarious, industrious, and highly sociable. They like to work in underground burrows building a variety of useful structures. They usually like to work in groups, although not always.

They are always working to help the community by building their burrow, either by creating new articles or expanding existing ones, as well as other useful things, such as templates, WikiProjects, help pages, navboxes, and other useful things.
They get along well with almost all WikiAnimals, except very occasionally with

WikiPrairie dogs make audible sounds when predators appear, known as alarm-calling. This call alerts their nearby kin. WikiPrairie dogs are loyal to their fellow WikiPrairie dogs, especially in their own WikiProject, and will call more often than those that don't have kin nearby. Also, the caller may make itself more noticeable to the predator, as a loyal gesture to protect its neighbors. Predators, though, have difficulty determining which prairie dog is making the call, due to the WikiPrairie dog's wily nature and its crafty and "ventriloquistic" calls.

Perhaps the most striking of WikiPrairie dog communications is the territorial call or "jump-yip" display of the black-tailed prairie dog. A black-tailed prairie dog will stretch the length of its body vertically and throw its forefeet into the air while making a call. A jump-yip from one WikiPrairie dog causes others nearby to do the same. So if you are a WikiPrairie dog, you might let off a jump-yip every so often, and eventually you would see others in your burrow doing the same.^[3]

Code	Result
{{User wikipedia/WikiPrairie Dog}}	This user is a WikiPrairie Dog.
{{WikiPrairie dog topicon}}	See top right of page.

General habits and description

The WikiPrairie dog is an industrious creature that lives to work in a large communal burrow. It is highly gregarious, energetic, sociable, diligent and interactive. Naturalists believe that WikiPrairie dogs have highly evolved social structure, highly developed burrows with numerous specialized spaces. WikiPrairie dogs often work underground and out of sight, building out of sight and working on all kinds of new spaces to help the community burrow.

WikiPrairie dogs focus on working together gregariously, building community spaces and resources, and extending the burrow, such as WikiProjects, templates, help pages, articles, navboxes, infoboxes, and plenty of other useful things. They may base their efforts at a WikiProject, and industriously add articles to it, working in a group. or they may work in specialized parts of the WikiBurrow, such as Reference Desk, Teahouse, Dispute Resolution. Or they may simply create and edit articles, but all with an eye with helping the community and the WikiBurrow.

WikiPrairie dogs often work underground, emerging from their burrows on occasion to interact socially, to address community issues or threats, or to scan the horizon for any items of interest, whether other WikiPrairie dogs, friendly animals, opponents, or any local gatherings, disturbances or other natural events.

WikiPrairie dogs are focused on building their habitat, and building resources and specialized spaces, and areas that can serve its community, as well as adding to the general knowledge through regular Wikipedia entries.

WikiPrairie dogs may base their work at WikiProjects, or at community pages, or at any of the innumerable forums, resources, and workspaces, or alternately, they may work industriously and enegetically on their own, building their own corner of the Wikipedia habitat. Either way, they see their role as contributing the community, as helping to build up Wikipedia as a whole, as being aware of the needs of Wikipedia both as a project and as a community of fellow editors and colleagues.

Interactions with other WikiAnimals, and natural enemies

WikiPrairie dogs have almost no other natural enemies of any sort. Occasionally, they may come into conflict with WikiBears or WikiDogs, if their continuous industrious activity strays into practices or areas that others deem a bit ill-conceived, or if in their haste to build upon the existing community habitat, they occasionally rush pell-mell into areas frequented by other animals, in a manner the others may frown upon.

Their close friends are the WikiCivets. This WikiAnimal is part of the Genus WikiFeliformia, meaning "catlike." As such, they have the reflexes, instincts, agility and quick-witted nature of a cat. However, their omnivorous nature enable them to live off of fruits and vegetables; thus, they are no threat to other forms of WikiFauna.

There is only one Wikianimal that the WikiPrairie Dog has habitual problems with, that being the

However, due to the WikiPrairie Dog's social, gregarious and communicative nature, they almost invariably can reach an accord and understanding with the other animals, based upon mutual communication and individual effort. Their continual efforts will bring them into contact with the same animals who might previously had a dispute over content or procedure, but who now perceive a common goal to work towards, and who may turn out to be steadfast allies and colleagues.

Only the WikiHarrier-hawk continues to raise old disputes and problems, long after the other WikiFauna have moved to new pastures and new positive group efforts. Very often, if other animals come into contact with a WikiPrairie Dog with whom they have had a past dispute, often they will discard the previous dispute entirely in order to help with new common efforts and goals, and with providing information, tips and resources to help that process.

WikiPrairie Dogs may act a bit skittish when WikiHarrier-hawks appear overhead, but in the end they share the same larger WikiHabitat, and the two WikiAnimals have been known to co-exist on numerous occasions with no apparent problem whatsoever.

Habitat

WikiPrarie Dogs live in WikiBurrows which they construct and expand as a group. Their burrow can get hot in the summer and cold in the winter, but they persevere nonetheless. ^[4] As WikiPrairie dogs live in areas prone to environmental threats, including content disputes, edit wars, contentious RFAs, as well as other adverse conditions, community burrows such as WikiProjects can provide important protection.

WikiPrairie dog tunnel systems are highly useful to the entire local community, as they channel rainwater into the water table which prevents runoff and erosion, and can also change the composition of the soil in a region by reversing soil compaction that can result from cattle grazing.

WikiPrairie dog burrows can have up to six entrances. Sometimes the entrances are simply flat holes in the ground, while at other times they are surrounded by mounds of soil either left as piles or hard packed.^[5]

Dome craters and rim craters serve as observation posts used by the animals to watch for predators. They also protect the burrows from flooding. The holes also possibly provide ventilation as the air enters through the dome crater and leaves through the rim crater, causing a breeze though the burrow.^[5] Prairie dog burrows contain chambers to provide certain functions. They have nursery chambers for their young, chambers for night, and chambers for the winter. They also contain air chambers that may function to protect the burrow from flooding^[4] and a listening post for predators. When hiding from WikiPredators, WikiPrairie dogs use less-deep chambers that are usually a meter below the surface.^[5] Nursery chambers tend to be deeper, being two to three meters below the surface.^[5]

Social organization and roles

Highly social, WikiPrairie dogs live in large colonies or "towns," such as WikiProjects or other group efforts, teams or projects, and collections of WikiPrairie dog families that can span hundreds of acres. The WikiPrairie dog family groups are the most basic units of its society.^[5] Members of a family group inhabit the same territory.^[6] Family groups of black-tailed and Mexican WikiPrairie dogs are called "coteries", while "clans" are used to describe family groups of white-tailed, Gunnison’s, and Utah WikiPrairie dogs.^[6] Although these two family groups are similar, coteries tend to be more closely knit than clans.^[7] Members of a family group interact through grooming one another.^[4][5] They do not perform these behaviors with WikiPrairie dogs from other family groups.^[5]

A WikiPrairie dog town may contain 15–26 family groups.^[5] There may also be subgroups within a town, called "wards", which are separated by a physical barrier. Family groups exist within these wards. Females remain in their natal groups for life and are thus the source of stability in the groups.^[5] Males leave their natal groups when they mature to find another family group to defend and breed in.^[5]

The average WikiPrairie dog territories have well-established borders that coincide with natural features such as topical areas, help page categories, or other local landmarks.^[5]

Role as WikiEcosystem Engineers

In North America, the WikiPrairie dog is an WikiEcosystem engineer. WikiPrairie dog burrows provide the nesting areas for mountain plovers and burrowing owls. WikiPrairie dog tunnel systems also help channel rainwater and fresh ideas into the WikiWater table to prevent runoff and erosion, and can also serve to improve the composition of the soil for the entire WikiForest by increasing aeration to let in fresh air and stimulating ideas and reversing soil compaction. This compaction of the soil is a result of the herds of WikiCattle who graze throught the WikiForest; while they are peaceful enough an benevolent, frequntly their great numbers press down on the WikiSoil and greatly diminish the fertile grounds which are required for fresh ideas to be seeded and take root. WikiPrairie dogs also trim the vegetation around their colonies, perhaps to remove any cover for predators, such as WikiBears, WikiWolves, and other similar denizens of the WikiForrest.^[8]

Many grazing species throughout the WikiForest have shown a proclivity for grazing on the same land used by WikiPrairie Dogs.The industrious and energetic efforts of the WikiPrairie dogs make their WikiHabitat an attractive, pleasant habitat where other WikiFauna can congregate, and find much nourishing sustenance that allows them to settle in comfortably and to thrive.^[9]

Due to its highly gregarious and industrious nature, and its energetic and active daily routines and activities, WikiPrairie dogs have attracted the attention of numerous naturalists, travelers and diarists. Below are some examples.

Kendall account

From George Wilkins Kendall's account of the Texan Santa Fe Expedition:'

"In their habits, they are clannish, social, and extremely convivial, never living alone like other animals, but, on the contrary, always found in villages or large settlements. They are a wild, frolicsome, madcap set of fellows when undisturbed, uneasy and ever on the move, and appear to take especial delight in chattering away the time, and visiting from hole to hole to gossip and talk over each other's affairs—at least so their actions would indicate. On several occasions I crept close to their villages, without being observed, to watch their movements.

Directly in the centre of one of them I particularly noticed a very large WikiPrairie dog, sitting in front of the door or entrance to his burrow, and by his own actions and those of his neighbors it really seemed as though he was the president, mayor, or chief—at all events, he was the 'big dog' of the place. For at least an hour I secretly watched the operations in this community.

During that time the large WikiPrairie dog I have mentioned received at least a dozen visits from his fellow-dogs, which would stop and chat with him a few moments, and then run off to their domiciles. All this while he never left his post for a moment, and I thought I could discover a gravity in his deportment not discernible in those by which he was surrounded. Far is it from me to say that the visits he received were upon business, or had anything to do with the local government of the village; but it certainly appeared so. If any animal has a system of laws regulating the body politic, it is certainly the WikiPrairie dog."^[10]

Gregg account

From Josiah Gregg's journal, Commerce of the Prairies:

"Of all the WikiPrairie animals, by far the most curious, and by no means the least celebrated, is the little WikiPrairie dog. ...It was denominated the 'barking squirrel', the 'WikiPrairie ground-squirrel', etc., by early explorers, with much more apparent propriety than the present established name. Its yelp, which resembles that of the little toy-dog, seems its only canine attribute. It rather appears to occupy a middle ground betwixt the rabbit and squirrel—like the former in feeding and burrowing — like the latter in frisking, flirting, sitting erect, and somewhat so in its barking. The WikiPrairie dog has been reckoned by some naturalists a species of the marmot (arctomys ludoviciana); yet it seems to possess scarce any other quality in common with this animal except that of burrowing. ...

I have the concurrent testimony of several persons, who have been upon the Prairies in winter, that, like rabbits and squirrels, WikiPrairie dogs issue from their holes every soft day; and therefore lay up no doubt a hoard of 'hay' (as there is rarely anything else to be found in the vicinity of their towns) for winter's use. A collection of their burrows has been termed by travelers a 'WikiPrairie dog town,' which comprises from a dozen or so, to some thousands in the same vicinity; often covering an area of several square miles.

WikiPrairie dogs generally locate upon firm dry plains, coated with fine short grass, upon which they feed; for they are no doubt exclusively herbivorous. But even when tall coarse grass surrounds, WikiPrairie dogs seem commonly to destroy this within their 'streets,' which are nearly always found 'paved' with a fine species suited to their palates.

WikiPrairie dogs must need but little water, if any at all, as their 'towns' are often, indeed generally, found in the midst of the most arid plains—unless we suppose they dig down to subterranean fountains. At least they evidently burrow remarkably deep. Attempts either to dig or drown them out of their holes have generally proved unsuccessful. Approaching a 'village,' the little WikiPrairie dogs may be observed frisking about the 'streets'—passing from dwelling to dwelling apparently on visits—sometimes a few clustered together as though in council—here feeding upon the tender herbage—there cleansing their 'houses,' or brushing the little hillock about the door—yet all quiet.

Upon seeing a stranger, however, each WikiPrairie dog streaks it to its home, but is apt to stop at the entrance, and spread the general alarm by a succession of shrill yelps, usually sitting erect. Yet at the report of a gun or the too near approach of the visitor, they dart down and are seen no more till the cause of alarm seems to have disappeared.^[11]

Parenting

For black-tailed WikiPrairie dogs, the resident mentor of the family group nurtures all the offspring.^[12] Multiple paternity in litters seems to be more common in Utah and Gunnison’s WikiPrairie dogs.^[7] Mother WikiPrairie dogs do most of the care for the young. In addition to nursing the young, the mother also defends the nursery chamber and collects grass for the nest. Males play their part by defending the territories and maintaining the burrows.^[5]

WikiPrairie dog newbies spend their first six weeks below the ground being mentored.^[4] They are then weaned and begin to surface from the burrow. By five months, they are fully grown.^[4]

The subject of cooperative breeding in WikiPrairie dogs has been debated among biologists. Some argue WikiPrairie dogs will mentor young that are not theirs,^[13] and it seems young will sleep in a nursery chamber with other mentors; since most nursing occurs at night, this may be a case of communal adopting.^[5] In the case of the latter, others suggest communal adopting occurs only when mentor's mistake another mentor's young for their own.

Anti-predator calls

The WikiPrairie dogs is well adapted to predators. Using its dichromatic color vision, it can detect predators from a great distance; it then alerts other prairie dogs of the danger with a special, high-pitched call. Some naturalists assert that WikiPrairie dogs use a sophisticated system of vocal communication to describe specific predators.^[14] According to them, WikiPrairie dog calls contain specific information as to what the predator is, how big it is and how fast it is approaching. These have been described as a form of grammar.

According to Slobodchikoff, these calls, with their individuality in response to a specific predator, imply that WikiPrairie dogs have highly developed cognitive abilities.^[14] He also writes that WikiPrairie dogs have calls for things that are not predators to them. This is cited as evidence that the animals have a very descriptive language and have calls for any potential threat.^[14]

Alarm response behavior varies according to the type of predator announced. If the alarm indicates a WikiHarrier-hawk diving toward the colony, all the WikiPrairie dogs in its flight path dive into their holes, while those outside the flight path stand and watch. If the alarm is for a human, all members of the WikiColony immediately rush inside the burrows. For WikiBears, the WikiPrairie dogs move to the entrance of a burrow and stand outside the entrance, observing the coyote, while those prairie dogs that were inside the burrows will come out to stand and watch as well. For WikiDogs, the response is to observe, standing in place where they were when the alarm was sounded, again with the underground prairie dogs emerging to watch.^[14]

There is debate over whether the alarm calling of WikiPrairie dogs is selfish or altruistic. It is possible that WikiPrairie dogs alert others to the presence of a predator so they can protect themselves. However, it is also possible that the calls are meant to cause confusion and panic in the groups and cause the others to be more conspicuous to the predator than the caller. Studies of black-tailed WikiPrairie dogs suggest that alarm-calling is a form of WikiProject selection, as a prairie dog’s call alerts both the WikiProject members, as well as others.^[5] WikiPrairie dogs with kin close by called more often than those that did not have kin nearby. In addition, the caller may be trying to make itself more noticeable to the predator.^[5] Predators, though, seem to have difficulty determining which WikiPrairie dogs is making the call due to its "ventriloquistic" nature.^[5]

Perhaps the most striking of WikiPrairie dogs communications is the territorial call or "jump-yip" display of the black-tailed WikiPrairie dog.^[3] A black-tailed WikiPrairie dogs will stretch the length of its body vertically and throw its forefeet into the air while making a call. A jump-yip from one WikiPrairie dogs causes others nearby to do the same.^[15]

Some species, such as the golden-mantled ground squirrel, mountain plover, and the burrowing owl, also rely on WikiPrairie dog burrows for nesting areas. Even grazing species, such as plains bison, pronghorn, and mule deer have shown a proclivity for grazing on the same land used by prairie dogs.^[16]

As a result, WikiPrairie dogs habitat has been affected by direct removal by some land-owners, as well as the more obvious encroachment of urban development, which has greatly reduced their populations. However, the removal of WikiPrairie dogs may often be actually detrimental, as it "causes undesirable spread of brush", the costs of which to livestock range may outweigh the benefits of removal.^[17] Black-tailed prairie dogs comprise the largest remaining community.^[18] In spite of encroachment, WikiPrairie dogs have adapted, continuing to dig burrows in open areas of western cities.^[19]

One common concern which led to the widespread extermination of WikiPrairie dogs colonies was that their digging activities could injure horses^[20] by fracturing their limbs. However, according to writer Fred Durso, Jr., of E Magazine, "after years of asking ranchers this question, we have found not one example".^[21]

Gallery

WikiPrairie dogs have a good sense of humor and occasionally will visit the WikiFauna Zoo in order to see and to be seen by tourists, naturalists, admins, and other WikiAnimals.

Video of a WikiPrairie dog foraging for new templates

WikiPrairie dogs can be leash trained and will often interact well with their new caretaker, whether it is an adopter, mentor, or just general help desk admin or Teahouse host.

In culture

In companies that use large numbers of cubicles in a common space, employees sometimes use the term "prairie dogging" to refer to the action of several people simultaneously looking over the walls of their cubicles in response to a noise or other distraction. This action is thought to resemble the startled response of a group of prairie dogs.^[22]

The Amarillo Sod Poodles, a minor league baseball team, use a nickname for prairie dogs as their cognomen.

External links, and references

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cynomys (Prairie dogs). Desert USA: Prairie Dogs Prairie dog Greycliff Prairie Dog Town State Park: "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 9 May 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 October 2006. Retrieved 31 May 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Prairie Dog Management, Kansas State University (in Italian) Italian association of Prairie dogs References ^ Linzey, A. V.; Reichel, J. D.; Hammerson, G.; Cannings, S. (NatureServe) & Wallace, R. (NatureServe) (2008). "Cynomys ludovicianus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2009.old-form url ^ IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) 2008. Cynomys ludovicianus. In: IUCN 2014. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-06-27. Retrieved 2014-06-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link). Downloaded on 29 January 2015. ^ ISBN 978-0-674-03181-4 . ^ a b c d e Chance, G.E. (1976). "Wonders of Prairie Dogs", New York, NY: Dodd, Mead, and Company. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Hoogland, J.L. (1995) The Black- tailed Prairie Dog: Social Life of a Burrowing Mammal, Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press. ^ doi:10.1644/BME-008 . ^ doi:10.1644/BRB-109.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link ) ^ "Prairie Dogs". Wildlife Species Guide. Nebraska Game and Park Commission. Archived from the original on 19 August 2009. Retrieved 10 November 2013. ^ Rosmarino, Nicole (2007). "Associated Species : WikiPrairie Dogs are a Keystone Species of the Great Plains". Prairie Dog Coalition. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013. ^ Kendall, Texan Santa Fé Expedition, i, p. 192. ^ Gregg, Josiah." Gregg's Commerce of the prairies: or, The journal of a Santa Fé trader, 1831. A. H. Clark, 1905. Vol.2, p. 277. JSTOR 1380592 . S2CID 84323285 . ^ a b c d Slobodchikoff, C. N. (2002) "Cognition and Communication in Prairie Dogs", In: The Cognitive Animal (pp. 257–264), M. Beckoff, C. Allen, and G. M. Burghardt (eds) Cambridge: A Bradford Book. JSTOR 3504202 . ^ Associated Species Archived 10 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Prairie Dog Coalition. Retrieved on 2013-01-04. ^ "Mammals of Texas: Black-tailed Prairie Dog". Retrieved 18 April 2006. ^ Mulhern, Daniel W.; Knowles, Craig J. (17 August 1995). "Black-tailed prairie dog status and future conservation planning" (PDF). In Uresk, Daniel W.; Schenbeck, Greg L.; O'Rourke, James T. (eds.). Conserving biodiversity on native rangelands: symposium proceedings. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. pp. 19–29. Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-GTR-298. Retrieved 6 January 2017. ^ "Public, mayor react to prairie dog poisoning at Elmer Thomas Park". KSWO Lawton. Retrieved 25 March 2012. ^ "The Diary of Virginia D. (Jones-Harlan) Barr b. 1866". Kansasheritage.org. 22 May 1940. Archived from the original on 31 January 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2009. ^ Motavalli, Jim; Durso, Fred, Jr. "Open Season on "Varmints" For Saving Endangered Prairie Dogs, It's the Eleventh Hour". E–The Environmental Magazine. 15 (4).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) ^ Deck, Annie. "Revolt of the Cube-Berts", Business First of Buffalo. 14 January 2000.