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Woodchuck — Part 6
Images coming soon.
3. Labrador Woodchuck. A. monax ignavus Bangs. Similar to the last externally.
Prairie Dog
Cynomys Iudovicianus (Ord)
Prairie dogs feed upon grass and such other plants as furnish satisfactory fodder, and frequently strip the ground bare throughout the extent of their towns.
In all the older accounts of the prairie dog we inevitably find associated with him the rattlesnake and the burrowing owl, the three forming the theme for many a "Happy Family" story.
Apart from inhabiting the same region, and the fact that young prairie dogs form an acceptable article of diet for both the other members of the triumvirate, they have little to do with one another. The owls dig holes for themselves, though they may not be averse to appropriating a prairie dog's burrow, just as their relatives of the woodland will use an old flicker's hole or a crow's nest. The rattlesnake, too, will no doubt take refuge in a burrow of either of the others, though to the discomfiture of the rightful owner and the probable loss of its offspring. The stories of the peaceful cohabitation of the beast, bird and reptile are, however, the result of a lively imagination.