Christine Zuchora-Walske - Lets Look at Prairie Dogs

Let's Look at
Prairie
Dogs

Christine Zuchora-Walske

Copyright 2010 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout the prior written permission of Lerner Publishing
Group, Inc., except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.
Lerner Publications Company
A division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.
241 First Avenue North
Minneapolis, MN 55401 U.S.A.
Website address: www.lernerbooks.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Zuchora-Walske, Christine.
Lets look at prairie dogs / by Christine Zuchora-Walske.
p. cm. (Lightning bolt booksTM Animal close-ups)
Includes index.
ISBN 9780761338918 (lib. bdg. : alk. paper)
1. Prairie dogsJuvenile literature. I. Title.
QL737.R68Z836 2010
599.367dc22 2008051856
Manufactured in the United States of America
1 2 3 4 5 6 BP 15 14 13 12 11 10

Contents

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Not Really
a Dog

Look! An animal is peeking
out of a hole in the ground.
Can you guess what kind
of animal it is?

This animal is a prairie dog.
It is not really a dog. It is
more like a squirrel.

This prairie dog lives
in South Dakota.

Prairie dog fur is
golden brown.

Prairie dogs eat grass and
other plants.

They pick and eat the plants
with their sharp claws and teeth.

Prairie dogs have
strong claws on
each foot.

Tunnel
Diggers

Prairie dogs also use their
claws and teeth to dig burrows.
Burrows are underground
tunnels. Prairie dogs live in
burrows.

A prairie
dog sleeps
in its burrow.

As a prairie dog digs, it throws
dirt out of its burrow.

The prairie dog makes a round
hill of dirt called a mound.
The mound makes a ring
around the burrow hole.

This prairie dog
has finished
digging its burrow.

A place with many
mounds is called a
prairie dog town.

The mound helps keep rain
from flooding the burrow.
What else is a mound
good for?

A prairie dog can sit on a
mound and watch for predators.
Predators are animals that hunt
and eat other animals.

Three prairie dogs
keep careful watch
for predators.

Being
Hunted

A badger is sneaking near.
Badgers eat prairie dogs.

Like prairie dogs, badgers
dig. A badger will dig to
catch a prairie dog.

CHIRK! A
prairie dog
barks when
it sees a
predator.
Other prairie
dogs listen
and look
around.

If a predator comes too near,
prairie dogs rush underground.
They wait and listen.

This prairie dog is
hiding in a burrow.

The prairie dogs hear the
predator go away.

YIP! It is
safe to come
out now!

When prairie dogs bark
messages about predators,
they help their families
stay safe.

One prairie dog always
keeps watch for
predators while other
prairie dogs eat.

Prairie Dog
Families

A prairie dog family is called a
coterie. A coterie lives together
in one or more burrows.

These prairie dogs
belong to the same
coterie.

Prairie dogs in a coterie do
many things to stay close.
They kiss.

A prairie dog mother
and baby kiss by
touching noses.

They groom one another to
keep their fur clean and neat.

Prairie dogs
groom by
licking and
touching one
anothers fur.