A Peak at Prairie Dog Life
Prairie dogs are one of the more challenging animals to photograph. They get scared really easily and look terrified in most photos if you get too close. I couldn’t quite understand why they were so extremely scared until one day I saw a bald eagle swoop down from the sky, snatch up a full grown prairie dog and fly away with him. These little critters live in North America’s grasslands and are hunted both on the ground and from the air, making them extremely vigilant animals. They communicate with an advanced animal language and as soon as one of them senses something threatening he/she sounds the alarm, barking out to the others to run for cover.
Prairie dogs live in underground colonies connected by networks of tunnels that can extend for miles. However, their historical range has shrunk by more than 95% over time due to a host of pressures, including habitat encroachment by humans. They are considered ‘ecosystem engineers’ and benefit other animals through their activity, such as by building burrows needed by birds and they even help mow the lawn, which promotes plant diversity and new growth.
Since I couldn’t get close to the prairie dogs, I took these photos from a long distance using a Canon 100-500mm telephoto lens and 2X extender. A 2X extender doubles the focal length of the lens, which is a much needed camera accessory for situations like this when you are far from your subject.
