The Black-Tailed Prairie Dog: Social Life of a Burrowing Mammal (Wildlife Behavior and Ecology...

book: The Black-Tailed Prairie Dog: Social Life of a Burrowing Mammal (Wildlife Behavior and Ecology series) | John L. Hoogland

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The Black-Tailed P...

	The Black-Tailed Prairie Dog: Social Life of a Burrowing Mammal (Wildlife Behavior and Ecology series) John L. Hoogland University Of Chicago Press, 1995 - 562 pages average customer review:based on 1 review view larger image
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In The Black-Tailed Prairie Dog, John L. Hoogland draws on sixteen years of research at Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota, in the United States to provide this account of prairie dog social behavior. Through comparisons with more than 300 other animal species, he offers new insights into basic theory in behavioral ecology and sociobiology.

Hoogland documents interactions within and among families of prairie dogs to examine the advantages and disadvantages of coloniality. By addressing such topics as male and female reproductive success, inbreeding, kin recognition, and infanticide, Hoogland offers a broad view of conflict and cooperation. Among his surprising findings is that prairie dog females sometimes suckle, and at other times kill, the offspring of close kin.

Enhanced by more than 100 photographs, this book illuminates the social organization of a burrowing mammal and raises fundamental questions about current theory. As the most detailed long-term study of any social rodent, The Black-Tailed Prairie Dog will interest not only mammalogists and other vertebrate biologists, but also students of behavioral and evolutionary ecology.

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Heavy stuff, but interesting

This is a book by a scientist, and he was writing for other scientists--But it can be read by anyone with an interest. The author watched a prairie dog town for several months a year for over a decade, marking each of the animals so he could track individuals. He describes details of how he made his observations, but most of the book describes the habits and social behavior of prairie dogs, just as the title says. The book has a LOT of detail, but is readable and interesting. Some is rather surprising, such as prairie dog mothers who attempt to murder their nieces and nephews, but who, if they don't succeed, will nurse these same infants a few weeks later.
Recommended, if you want to "know it all" about prairie dogs! For less intense studies and gorgeous photography, look for "Prairie Dogs, Sentinels of the Plains."

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