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Prairie Dog Towns
Prairie dog towns are found mostly on the western side of the park and along the Scenic Drive.
Guide Sections
Use Prairie Dog Towns's guide sections to understand how this stop fits into the larger park plan.
Prairie Dog Towns Details
Difficulty
Open
Distance
N/A
Estimated time
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Region
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Along the 24-mile Scenic Drive circuit, you will travel past many areas known as "dog towns", home to communities of the park's black-tailed prairie dogs. Squirrel-like rodents, prairie dogs spend most of their day eating the prairie vegetation and keeping an eye out for predators. You may see them perched atop mounds for a better view, or hear them communicating with a series of barks and yips as an alert for possible danger. While some may consider prairie dogs a pest, they play an important role in the prairie habitat by keeping the vegetation trim for larger animals to access and offering empty burrows as a home for other critters such as the burrowing owl. Prairie dogs also are an important food source for predators such as foxes, coyotes, and eagles. It is prohibited to feed prairie dogs or approach any wildlife.
