Prairie Dogs Have a Mating Call
On average, prairie dogs carry their litter for a month (wouldn’t that be nice!), depending on the breed. Despite having the word dog in their name, these rodents aren’t actually in the canine family. Yet, interestingly, their mating call consists of barking twice to 25 times at three- to 15-second intervals.
Source: Donovan Watson/Flickr
Mother prairie dogs nurse their young in an underground nursery chamber for about six weeks. They also have to defend the nursery and gather grass for the nest. It has been noted that young prairie dogs will sleep in the nest with other mothers, but some say they will be killed to protect the territory.