“Fip Bits” for Prairie Dogs!

Here on the American prairie, nearly everything seems to depend on the prairie dog. They engineer huge, multi-chambered burrows, create “towns” that can span thousands of acres, and provide shelter to creatures like tiger salamanders, swift foxes, and burrowing owls. They’re also “the Chicken McNuggets of the prairie,” feeding everything from bobcats to swift foxes, birds of prey and black-footed ferrets.

But a combination of plowing, poisoning, and non-native plague wiped out nearly 95% of prairie dogs. That caused the ecosystem to collapse — and some species, like the ferrets, to nearly go extinct. Today, conservationists control the fleas that spread the disease and provide vaccine-laden treats to help the prairie dogs — and those that depend on them — finally rebound!