Prairie dogs feed aboveground during the day but use burrows for safety from predators, for sleeping at night, and for rearing families. This is the “turnaround burrow” into which prairie dogs can retreat just below the surface to wait for danger to pass. Most burrows have large mounds at their entrances. These mounds prevent flooding, provide high points from which prairie dogs can watch for predators, and promote underground ventilation.
Most burrows have at least two entrances, and some have four or five. The typical burrow is about 6 feet (1.8 meters) deep and about 30 feet (9.1 meters) long, but burrows can be as large as 15 feet (4.6 meters) deep and 100 feet (30.5 meters) long.
Digging is hard work, so prairie dogs commonly use the same burrows for 20 years or more.
|
