Prairie dogs have a sophisticated language. Not only do they warn others about different types of predators (hawk, coyote, human, etc.), but they also describe the threat. A study found that prairie dogs used different sounds to describe different humans walking through their village. The prairie dogs identified individuals as “the tall human in the blue” and “the short human in the yellow,” among other traits. ¹⁾

The Great Plains have been converted to farmlands, and prairie dogs are destructive to the landscape. Therefore, they are often killed as pests. During the 20th century, about 98 percent of the prairie dog population was exterminated.²⁾