Have pity on me Mr....

Highest Explore Position #295 ~ On August 11th 2008.

Prairie Dog - Wingham Wildlife Park, Kent, England - Sunday August 10th 2008.
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Yup....would you believe the Beaver's prayers were answered....the Sun actually came out today, well in Kent anyway...it rained AGAIN in London, as I drove through a deluge on my " THREE HOUR!!!" journey back home...It should have taken just over an hour...but for reasons unknown...the traffic was at a standstill and I spent most of the time with the handbrake on!!!!!
Still, as you will see over the next few days...I struck Gold, so I guess it was worth it lol..:O))
Yup...not only these guys, but Lemurs, Otters, Birds of Prey, Wallabies, Deer and even seagulls lol...stay tuned..:O))
I took over 1000 images...but I won't upload then all...lol..:O)

I hope you all had a great weekend...I'm off work tomorrow, so I have an extra day off..but I did work Saturday...so all's fair...lol

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ~ The prairie dogs (Cynomys) are small, burrowing rodents native to the grasslands of North America. There are five different species of prairie dogs: black-tailed, white-tailed, Gunnison, Utah, and Mexican prairie dogs. They are a type of squirrel. On average, these stout-bodied rodents will grow to be between 12 and 16 inches (30 and 40 cm) long, including the short tail and weigh between 1-3 pounds. They are found in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. In Mexico, prairie dogs are primarily found in the north states: Sonora, Coahuila, Nuevo León, Zacatecas and San Luis Potosí; in the U.S., they range primarily west of the Mississippi River, though they have also been introduced in a few eastern locales.

Prairie dogs are named for their habitat and warning call, which sounds similar to a dog's bark. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the name is attested from at least 1774. The 1804 journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition note that in September 1804, they "discovered a Village of an animal the French Call the Prairie Dog" - Its genus, Cynomys, derives from the Greek for "mouse dog."

The highly social prairie dogs live in large colonies or "towns" – collections of prairie dog families that can span hundreds of acres. Families usually consist of 1 male and 2 to 4 females living in a strict social hierarchy. Prairie dog pups reach sexual maturity at about 3 years of age, and after their third winter the dominant male in a given family will drive them away, forcing them to establish their own families on the edges of the colony. The dominant male will defend the family's borders against rival prairie dogs, and disputes are resolved with fighting. Prairie dogs are also aggressive against predators such as badgers and snakes. Prairie dogs are social animals, however, and often make social visits with each other, and greet each other with a sort of kiss.

Prairie dog tunnel systems help channel rainwater into the water table to prevent runoff and erosion, and can also serve to change the composition of the soil in a region by reversing soil compaction that can be a result of cattle grazing. The tunnels usually have several chambers. Tunnels can descend vertically as much as 5 meters (16 feet), and can extend laterally as much as 30 meters (100 feet). Prairie dogs line their burrows with grass to insulate them, and the earth excavated from the burrow is piled up in mounds around the burrow's entrance. The prairie dogs use these carefully maintained mounds as observation posts.

The prairie dog is well adapted to predators. Using its dichromatic color vision, it can detect predators from afar and then alert other prairie dogs to the danger with a special, high-pitched call. Con Slobodchikoff and others assert that prairie dogs use a sophisticated system of vocal communication to describe specific predators. Prairie dogs also trim the vegetation around their colonies, perhaps to remove any cover for predators. Their burrows generally contain several routes of escape.
The prairie dog is chiefly herbivorous, though it eats some insects. It feeds primarily on grasses and, in the fall, broadleaf forbs. Prairie dogs have 1-6 pups yearly, which are born blind and furless and need about 30 days of close nurturing from their mother.