Latest news with #prairiedogs
BBC News
16-06-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Birds listen in on prairie dog calls to stay safe
If we told you that some birds listen in on the calls of prairie dogs, you might think they should keep their beaks what if we told you that they are doing it to stay safe?Prairie dogs, which are rodents and are closely related to squirrels, bark to let each other know if there are predators have found that these calls are being picked up and used by long-billed curlews too. Prairie dogs are hunted by a long list of predators from birds of prey to foxes and even large curlews are vulnerable to some of these predators too. Research, which was published in the journal Animal Behaviour, found the birds listen to the sounds of the rodents to find out if predators are on the gives them more time to react to the nearby danger. Long-billed curlews nest their eggs in short grass on the ground, and when they hear the prairie dog call, they get as low as possible and try to camouflage part of the research, a team made a fake predator, in the form of a stuffed badger on a remote controlled was then driven towards nests in Montana in the US, sometimes while playing the calls of prairie dogs, sometimes in silence. When the birds could hear the fake barks from the remote-controlled badger, theyducked down into the grass to hide when it was more than three times the distance away, compared to when no barks were played.
Washington Post
12-06-2025
- General
- Washington Post
A grassland bird eavesdrops on prairie dog calls to keep itself safe from predators
WASHINGTON — Prairie dogs are the Paul Reveres of the Great Plains: They bark to alert neighbors to the presence of predators, with separate calls for dangers coming by land or by air. 'Prairie dogs are on the menu for just about every predator you can think of'— golden eagles , red-tailed hawks, foxes, badgers, even large snakes — said Andy Boyce, a research ecologist in Montana at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.
The Independent
12-06-2025
- Science
- The Independent
A grassland bird eavesdrops on prairie dog calls to keep itself safe from predators
Prairie dogs are the Paul Reveres of the Great Plains: They bark to alert neighbors to the presence of predators, with separate calls for dangers coming by land or by air. 'Prairie dogs are on the menu for just about every predator you can think of'— golden eagles, red-tailed hawks, foxes, badgers, even large snakes — said Andy Boyce, a research ecologist in Montana at the Smithsonian 's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. Those predators will also snack on grassland nesting birds like the long-billed curlew. To protect themselves, the curlews eavesdrop on the alarms coming from prairie dog colonies, according to research published Thursday in the journal Animal Behavior. Previous research has shown birds frequently eavesdrop on other bird species to glean information about potential food sources or approaching danger, said Georgetown University ornithologist Emily Williams, who was not involved in the study. But, so far, scientists have documented only a few instances of birds eavesdropping on mammals. 'That doesn't necessarily mean it's rare in the wild,' she said, 'it just means we haven't studied it yet.' Prairie dogs live in large colonies with a series of burrows that may stretch for miles underground. When they hear one each other's barks, they either stand alert watching or dive into their burrows to avoid approaching talons and claws. 'Those little barks are very loud — they can carry quite a long way,' said co-author Andrew Dreelin, who also works for the Smithsonian. The long-billed curlew nests in short-grass prairie and incubates eggs on a ground nest. When one hears the prairie dog alarm, she responds by pressing her head, beak and belly close to the ground. In this crouched position, the birds 'rely on the incredible camouflage of their feathers to become essentially invisible on the Plains,' Dreelin said. To test just how alert the birds were to prairie dog chatter, researchers created a fake predator by strapping a taxidermied badger onto a small remote-controlled vehicle. They sent this badger rolling over the prairie of north-central Montana toward curlew nests — sometimes in silence and sometimes while playing recorded prairie dog barks. When the barks were played, curlews ducked into the grass quickly, hiding when the badger was around 160 feet (49 meters) away. Without the barks, the remote-controlled badger got within about 52 feet (16 meters) of the nests before the curlews appeared to sense danger. 'You have a much higher chance of avoiding predation if you go into that cryptic posture sooner — and the birds do when they hear prairie dogs barking,' said co-author Holly Jones, a conservation biologist at Northern Illinois University. Prairie dogs are often thought of as 'environmental engineers,' she said, because they construct extensive burrows and nibble down prairie grass, keeping short-grass ecosystems intact. 'But now we are realizing they are also shaping the ecosystems by producing and spreading information,' she said. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Associated Press
12-06-2025
- Science
- Associated Press
A grassland bird eavesdrops on prairie dog calls to keep itself safe from predators
WASHINGTON (AP) — Prairie dogs are the Paul Reveres of the Great Plains: They bark to alert neighbors to the presence of predators, with separate calls for dangers coming by land or by air. 'Prairie dogs are on the menu for just about every predator you can think of'— golden eagles, red-tailed hawks, foxes, badgers, even large snakes — said Andy Boyce, a research ecologist in Montana at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. Those predators will also snack on grassland nesting birds like the long-billed curlew. To protect themselves, the curlews eavesdrop on the alarms coming from prairie dog colonies, according to research published Thursday in the journal Animal Behavior. Previous research has shown birds frequently eavesdrop on other bird species to glean information about potential food sources or approaching danger, said Georgetown University ornithologist Emily Williams, who was not involved in the study. But, so far, scientists have documented only a few instances of birds eavesdropping on mammals. 'That doesn't necessarily mean it's rare in the wild,' she said, 'it just means we haven't studied it yet.' Prairie dogs live in large colonies with a series of burrows that may stretch for miles underground. When they hear one each other's barks, they either stand alert watching or dive into their burrows to avoid approaching talons and claws. 'Those little barks are very loud — they can carry quite a long way,' said co-author Andrew Dreelin, who also works for the Smithsonian. The long-billed curlew nests in short-grass prairie and incubates eggs on a ground nest. When one hears the prairie dog alarm, she responds by pressing her head, beak and belly close to the ground. In this crouched position, the birds 'rely on the incredible camouflage of their feathers to become essentially invisible on the Plains,' Dreelin said. To test just how alert the birds were to prairie dog chatter, researchers created a fake predator by strapping a taxidermied badger onto a small remote-controlled vehicle. They sent this badger rolling over the prairie of north-central Montana toward curlew nests — sometimes in silence and sometimes while playing recorded prairie dog barks. When the barks were played, curlews ducked into the grass quickly, hiding when the badger was around 160 feet (49 meters) away. Without the barks, the remote-controlled badger got within about 52 feet (16 meters) of the nests before the curlews appeared to sense danger. 'You have a much higher chance of avoiding predation if you go into that cryptic posture sooner — and the birds do when they hear prairie dogs barking,' said co-author Holly Jones, a conservation biologist at Northern Illinois University. Prairie dogs are often thought of as 'environmental engineers,' she said, because they construct extensive burrows and nibble down prairie grass, keeping short-grass ecosystems intact. 'But now we are realizing they are also shaping the ecosystems by producing and spreading information,' she said. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
CBS News
27-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Colorado volunteers work to conserve prairie dog colony
Months of effort by neighbors in a Longmont community to save a prairie dog colony from extermination have paid off. The homeowner association board will soon decide whether the animals will be relocated or allowed to remain on the land. CBS In January, CBS Colorado spoke to neighbors in Harvest Junction Village, where the HOA was considering removing or exterminating a colony of prairie dogs. It had cited concerns over plant destruction and the animals encroaching on homes. At one point, the HOA voted to try relocation, and to exterminate the colony by March 1 if that effort was not successful. Activists spoke out that this would lead to the death of the animals, saying relocation is not possible until summer. But after continued pushback from neighbors, a new plan has been reached. "Big picture goal here is really to try and show that humans in close proximity can live at peace without conflict with local wildlife," said Mike MacFerrin, who lives in Harvest Junction Village. Dozens of neighbors donated their Memorial Day to the animals by building bridges and pulling weeds -- the first step in a plan that could keep the prairie dogs in their community. "This is gonna be a multiple day and multiple year process for the revegetation. This particular curly dock weed is extremely pernicious and persistent," MacFerrin said. "It's invasive. The prairie dogs don't eat it. .. And, as it gets taller, it forces them out." It's all to convince their HOA not to evict the prairie dogs living on a plot of open space near their homes. "This is my community, and I don't wanna spend several thousand dollars just to come out with poison gas trucks and kill everything," MacFerrin said. "We can do this a better way." After a community survey sent out by the activist neighbors found most responding residents did not want to kill the prairie dogs, or spend HOA money on management, the HOA board agreed to allow the neighbors to propose a long-term conservation plan. "Extermination is currently off the charts. Basically, our two options are relocation down to Pueblo or the conservation option," said Alex Pavloff, Harvest Junction Village HOA board member. These neighbors say keeping the prairie dogs around will be a win-win, and won't cost the HOA a cent. "We're out here doing the work," MacFerrin. "There's a lot of invasive weeds here that we're trying to get rid of that actually push the prairie dogs out." They're working with experts and nonprofits to draft the conservation plan, which includes not only weeding, but reseeding the land with native vegetation, and building a barrier fence to keep prairie dogs away from homes and the road. MacFerrin said reseeding and fencing can be expensive, so they're raising money to pay for those infrastructure changes through Grasslands Colorado. So far, they've raised more than $8,000. Among the volunteers are three HOA board members, who will have the ultimate say on whether the prairie dogs stay or are relocated. "This is a novel new way to manage prairie dogs on our Front Range," said Pavloff, who previously supported relocation. "I changed my mind really because of the fact that we have a good opportunity to try a new and novel method of prairie dog management." The neighbors will deliver the first draft of the master plan to the HOA next week. Their next meeting is scheduled on June 19. Neighbors say the final decision to conserve or relocate will need to be made in July, as relocation should begin in August. It's a plan the neighbors hope can be an example to other communities. "Just changing the narrative that you don't have to exterminate everything," MacFerrin said. "You don't have to just treat this like it's a second-rate golf fairway. You really can let nature thrive, and we can thrive with it."
