Our yard is partially encircled by vacant lots. Before we moved here everything was graded flat for houses but some were never built. That’s cool with us. The whole area has become a well established prairie dog town and provided us with comic entertainment for over ten years!
These are different critters from the larger prairie dogs that live on the high plains and Midwestern U.S. Some folks call these ground squirrels. The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum lists them as “Black Tailed Prairie Dog” …so there.
Sometimes they come over and nibble at our plants and birdseed but have otherwise been good neighbors. Seems they have the community concept well figured. The hawks and owls love them, too!
