Prairie Dogs Kills Its Competitor Fiercely, Study Finds

Researchers has discovered that white-tailed prairie dogs residing in the North American prairie, time to time kills ground squirrels that live in the same area.

A paper recently published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B shows how the white-tailed prairie dog, Cynomys leucurus, which lives in colonies in Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana, sometimes attacks the smaller Wyoming ground squirrel, Urocitellus elegans, attacking them to death.

The researcher pair recorded multiple cases of squirrel killing over the course of their study including the years 2003 to 2012 which consisted of sitting in tree-stands watching the activities of the creatures below. They report that they were shocked to witness a prairie dog killing a squirrel four years into their study and thereafter made it a priority to look out for another such instance.

"In my 43 years of research, this is perhaps the most provocative, puzzling, and far-reaching discovery I've ever made," says study co-author John Hoogland of the University of Maryland Center of Environmental Sciences. "The results are just staggering." "I describe the behavior in eight words: catch them, shake them, kill them, leave them," John added.

It seems that the most killing month in prairie dog towns is may, when baby ground squirrels show from their burrows. One prairie dog dug 7 ground squirrel babies out of their den and killed them, reports Aisling Irwin for New Scientist.

The researchers assume that the killings decreases competition for space and food with the ground squirrels.

Hoogland too is has questions, including one regarding the big-family bonus of interspecific killing. "Is this really unique to prairie dogs or is this more common?"