“One is never alone in the forest. One is never unobserved.”
A Far-Off Place by Laurens van der Post
In my experience it is seldom that a prairie dog will allow humans to come very close. But, for some reason this little one let me closer than usual. His hole was located along the outer edge of the prairie dog town. They can detect predators from a far distance and then alert other prairie dogs to the danger with their special, high-pitched call. They are considered a keystone spicies, which means they have a disproportionately large effect on its environment relative to its abundance. They provide food source the many prairie animals such as the fox, coyotes, raptors, badger, and snakes. They are definitely a pest for farmers and ranchers due to the towns they build. Anyway, this little one was letting me know I was being closely observed.