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Posts Tagged ‘Black-tailed Prairie DOgs’

Earlier this month I spotted a coyote (Canis latrans) at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. The coyote was hanging around a prairie dog town (you can see a prairie dog in the background) and magpies accompanied it, hoping to scavenge some tasty remnants.

I took these photos from inside my car with the windows open, hoping that no other cars would come by and disturb the coyote. Fortunately it was early in the morning and I was able to watch the coyote without interruptions. The coyote was unsuccessful in its hunt while I was there and eventually moved on.

Although we have coyotes at the wildlife refuge where I do a lot of my photography in Northern Virginia, this was my first time seeing and photographing one.

coyote

coyote

coyote

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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It was so much fun to watch the Black-tailed Prairie Dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) that I encountered in multiple locations during my recent visit to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora, North Dakota. I could see them from my car when I was driving along the roads looking for buffalo and wild horses, but I also encountered them on both sides of some of  the trails when I was hiking.

The prairie dogs seemed playful and energetic and were surprisingly vocal. They seemed to be calling out to each other all of the time in very distinctive squeaky voices. It seems like some of the calls were warnings that I was approaching, because quite often the prairie dogs would scurry into their holes as I drew near, sometimes peeking out with just the top of their heads and their eyes visible.

Here are some selected shots of prairie dogs in which I tried to capture a sense of their playful personalities.

Prairie Dogs

Prairie Dog

Prairie Dog

 

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