Sept. 6, 2024

Prairie dogs are back in Cowtown!

You can see the black-tailed prairie dogs at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge, where they've returned after nearly a decade. 

Fort Worth has been home to prairie dogs before — in fact, it looks like they were here first, before white settlers. They were eradicated from North Texas, but the Nature Center established a colony that lived near the bison pasture until the colony disappeared about nine years ago. 

Recently, a team from the Nature Center and the Friends of Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge traveled to a town near Palo Duro Canyon to rescue 90 prairie dogs whose homes were going to be bulldozed for housing. It was a collaborative effort, with input from biologists in the Panhandle and even some help from the housing developer. 

A DOG’S LIFE

Two prairie dogs examine their new surroundings from the safety of a release cage. Photo by Michael Smith.

We call them “dogs” but they really are ground-dwelling squirrels. In David Schmidly’s book, The Mammals of Texas (Revised Ed.), black-tailed prairie dogs are said to be about 15 inches in total length, with relatively short, black-tipped tails, weighing roughly two to four pounds. They live in family groups and colonies, digging elaborate tunnels with nest chambers. Lookouts will “bark” (really more like a squeak) as a warning, and members of the family group touch faces, much like kissing. 

They eat grasses, greens, prickly pear cactus and other plants, according to Schmidly. They eat a lot — reportedly, 32 prairie dogs eat about as much per day as one sheep. Their prodigious appetites got them in trouble with farmers and ranchers, who also blame them for livestock  getting injured from stepping into a burrow. 

Dr. Jared Wood, acting manager of the Nature Center, confirmed the negative view farmers and ranchers have had toward prairie dogs. 

“The belief that prairie dogs are pests can be traced back to early settlers. It’s a deeply ingrained point of view. Recent research has shown they can greatly benefit a prairie ecosystem.” 

Prairie dogs are ecosystem engineers, as their burrows provide homes for many wildlife species, such as other mammals, snakes and invertebrates. 

“They also aerate the soil, transport nutrients, serve as a food source for predators, and reduce the height of grass near their burrows, creating a habitat matrix for various species, including grassland bird species.”

Reportedly, at the end of the 1800s, there were enormous prairie dog colonies in West Texas, but many of those have been eliminated. Schmidly reports that about 98 percent of the original population of prairie dogs in Texas has been lost. The “red list” of threatened species maintained by the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the status of the black-tailed prairie dog as “least concern,” but with a decreasing population.

NEW DIGS

David Reasoner fits mesh into a starter tunnel for reinforcement. Photo by Michael Smith.

At the Nature Center, prairie dogs are being released in two locations, one of which is visible from the road. So far, they are doing well, especially considering that the odds of translocated prairie dogs surviving has historically been low. Translocation is the relocation of wildlife outside their home range beyond any familiar landmarks. Wood said the disorienting move is quite stressful for wildlife and released animals may wander off.

He said that they would not have captured wild prairie dogs whose homes were secure, but these would have perished had they not been rescued. So, even with the worry that they might not adapt and form a colony in their new home, it was worth the risk.

Regarding the low success rate, Wood pointed out that wildlife managers have improved translocation techniques over the yearas. 

“Success rates used to be as low as 10 percent survival, but more recently, 30 to 50 percent success rates have been reported. Newer studies have reported even higher success rates if managers are willing to take some extra steps to improve the outcome.” 

Prairie dogs, still in their release cages, are placed under canopies protecting the animals from excessive heat on Aug. 29, 2024. Photo by Michael Smith.

The staff is following recommended guidelines by pre-drilling a burrow with an auger, having an adequate release enclosure, and providing food and hydration. Keeping family groups, known as coteries, together also helps. Wood said that “most of the successful projects [with those higher percentages of success] focused heavily on moving family units. If you don’t, they stress and disperse, looking for their family.”

The Nature Center staff considered all these variables carefully. David Reasoner, a wildlife technician at the Nature Center, described using equipment to auger holes a few feet into the ground as “starter” burrows. A wire mesh tube is pushed down into the first part of the burrow to make sure it cannot cave in. Next, a wire mesh release cage is placed over the burrow entrance and secured to the tube. The animals are transferred from holding cages into these release cages at the site where they will live. The cage allows prairie dogs to sit above ground and view their surroundings while protected from hawks and other predators. 

The released prairie dogs are being fed vegetables and some fruit twice a day, which provides water and nutrition. Hay is provided for munching as well. The animals extend the starter burrows, including digging exit tunnels. 

A prairie dog is transferred to a release cage. Photo by Michael Smith.

SETTLING IN

Visiting the first release spot with staff, I saw family groups hanging out in release cages and a couple of dogs sitting at new burrow entrances that they dug. 

As the prairie dogs get used to their new surroundings and dig exit holes, the release cages can be phased out and the dogs are on their own. While they may be living independently, they will be watched over carefully by Nature Center staff to make sure things are going well.

Nature Center staff are being extra careful about avoiding the risk of disease, because the previous colony at the Nature Center probably died from a flea-borne illness. And so, an additional thing staff will do is provide food cubes a few times a year, infused with flea and tick repellent, much like the medications we give dogs and cats. 

I stood by as staff, including Reasoner, Taylor Phillips, Savannah Stack and volunteer Dakota Michels attached release cages to the pre-dug holes and released one group of dogs. Reasoner reached into the holding cage, lifted out one of the animals. Michels gave the dog a spritz of flea repellent, placed him into the release cage. The dog then disappeared right down into the burrow. A few minutes later, many were up in the release cage, munching hay and looking around.

I was surprised that no one was bitten, and the prairie dogs were briefly panicked when first picked up but seemed to tolerate the rest of the transfer to the new home. Despite how cute they look, prairie dogs are tough survivors. They will try to face down predators, such as coyotes or hawks, biting and scratching fiercely. 

“My team has found it easier to handle alligators than it is to handle prairie dogs,” Wood reported. 

He said that members of the public should not attempt to feed or handle prairie dogs. Not because they’re mean. But because they are built to react to anything approaching them as a threat that must be escaped or fought.

Prairie dogs wait for transfer to a release cage. Photo by Michael Smith.

YOU GOTTA HAVE FRIENDS

The Nature Center and the Friends of the Fort Worth Nature Center has worked together, under the leadership of new Executive Director Chris Smith and under the supportive, watchful eye of Friends Board Member Emerita Marty Leonard. 

“This project would not be possible without Marty and the Friends,” Wood said. Regarding Leonard, “She’s been out here in the heat helping release them and has been involved in the whole project.”

Chris Smith, executive director of the Friends of the Fort Worth Nature Center, also acknowledged Leonard's role.

“Marty Leonard jumped at the opportunity to bring them back to the Nature Center,” Smith said. “The effort reflects the power of collaboration and a shared dedication to wildlife protection.”

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