Quite a few people don’t know this, but black-tailed prairie dogs will whistle sharply and fiercely when they sense danger.
Even fewer people know this, but they do so with the old country-boy trick of placing a blade of grass in a small gap between thumbs pressed together and blowing strongly. It is one of those remarkably useful things that you learn in adolescence, like making fart noises
Jim didn’t tell me whether this black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) was telling him to keep the noise down, or specifying how tall one had to be to get on the ride, or drying its nails, or doing the Macarena. It might just be gay.
Om my god, I’m in so much trouble now for perpetuating stereotypes about prairie dogs, aren’t I?
We’ve left Montana now and have traveled to Wyoming, in a touristy area. You can tell that last bit from the reaction of the locals, in this case a black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) showing its typical response to photographers. Or at least, photographers that aren’t offering Cheetos.