The Secret Lives of Prairie Dogs

Prairie dogs have always been a puzzle to me.  I've worked with them at four zoos, watched pups come into the world, tended injured animals after their frequent savage fights, and acted as a human scarecrow trying to keep hawks away.  But unlike many of the species I've worked with, I've never really felt like I've known prairie dogs.  That's because so much of their life history takes place underground, out of sight and, largely, out of mind of their caretakers.

Salisbury Zoo, Smithsonian research the secret lives of prairie dogs

I was interested and excited to hear about this new study of prairie dogs being initiated at the Salisbury Zoo, with the support of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.  There's so much we don't know about how these animals, which play such an important role in American prairie ecosystems, live their lives.  In cases like this, the zoo can serve as a laboratory to help further our knowledge, as well as to perfect techniques which can later be applied to studying wild populations.

Salisbury Zoo is, of course, one of the tinier of American zoos, easily overshadowed by the big zoos in the region.  This goes to show, however, that even the smallest of zoos - and the most common, most oft overlooked zoo animals - have the potential to contribute to expanding our knowledge base of the natural world.