Prairie Dogs: “Come hither” or “Back off”?

Sunday, March 18th, 2007

Hi Jim -

My boyfriend and his eight year old son and I went to the Minnesota Zoo today. We observed the prairie dogs doing the “yip jumping” and then we observed two prairie dogs in what was either a territorial display or a mating dance - we could not tell which it was. The pair we observed “took turns” turning their bottoms up toward each other and the other prairie dog would approach and appear to sniff the bottom of the other prairie dog. After a few minutes they got into a brief tussle. Was this mating behavior or territorial behavior? Just curious…

Thank you for the info that you have out there on the web. My boyfriend and I are all about educational experiences for his animal loving son and all the stuff on the web is a fantastic tool.

Take care,
Anne

Water is Life

Monday, December 11th, 2006

To coincide with your current article on water and ice…
According to the Jewish faith, the number of life is 18.
The atomic weight of a single molecule of water is 18.

My father always loved that coincidence.

Mystery Sound

Friday, November 24th, 2006

Hi,

We’ve been hearing a strange animal sound almost every nite for three weeks. It comes from different directions every nite. It sounds like about 150 to 200yds. away. It sounds about every 30 to 60 sec. We think it’s a mountain lion cub. I recorded an audio clip & attached it. I would greatly appreciate it if you could identify it, as I have a dog who loves to run around the property.

 
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