On the Cheyenne River Buffalo Ranch, which consists of 36,000 grazing acres, the pastures are very diverse, each supporting different types of grass and foliage based on the soil or terrain conditions.
Of course there are the flat, open, mostly treeless pastures that the Great Plains prairies are famous for, complete with nature paths that all wildlife use, including the bison.
There are also the rugged, rocky hillsides covered with sage and seasonal wildflowers that drop down into the river bottom, which resembles something like the African Serengeti.
Within the high and the low grassland bison pastures of our ranch there is another whole ecosystem residing in the prairie dog towns.
Bison evolved with the prairie dogs, and they relish eating the short, clipped off grass the prairie dogs leave. They also enjoy an afternoon lounge in the dirt and can often be seen taking in a roll or a wallow.
Prairie dogs can be an awful nuisance for ranchers if the grazing range land is limited, and the stocking capacity is too much for what a landscape can hold to maintain its diversity. This, however, is not how we manage our bison pastures. We manage our prairie rangelands for all species, including the prairie dogs.
A prairie dog town houses and supports many other creatures, and a favorite of ours is the burrowing owl. They somehow have it figured out, and live in unison during the burrowing owls' nesting months. It's all part of the greater, connective plan.
Although prairie dogs get a bad rap, we could stand to learn a lot from them. They never take seeing each other for granted and even if they just saw each other a minute ago, they greet each other with hugs and kisses.
In the images above and below, I so enjoyed watching the prairie dogs assess the situation while the bison lounged in the background. They carefully hunted and gathered, eating along the way before running a stash back to their home.
In addition to the above mentioned burrowing owls that use prairie dog towns for their home, other species that rely on them include snakes, badgers, coyotes, fox, and rabbits.
Pictured below is an adult and juvenile burrowing owl. Aren't they so cool?!
Perhaps the most important species that share prairie dog towns for their home is the endangered black-footed ferret, who aid in keeping prairie dog numbers in check.
Sadly, the plague has hit areas within South Dakota and surrounding areas, putting black-footed ferrets in even more danger of becoming extinct. The good news is that there is a band of good folks, led by Travis Liveri, who are working tirelessly to administer vaccinations against the plague and distemper. They are a small group, and are way underfunded. If you would like to offer your support, you can find our more about them at Prairie Wildlife Research.
As always, we thank you for supporting our greater mission of restoring the Great Plains prairies while improving our environment and our food supply by bringing back the bison.
13 comments
My daughter’s BFF was working in the area until the funding dried up, spraying against the plague and finally doing black-footed ferret research. Good people are doing the best they can, like you said, with very limited funds. Thanks for bringing this to wider attention, Jillian and the Wild Idea team!
Fantastic photos! So happy to see the Prairie Dogs and know that you have a colony. Didn’t know about the issues with the Black-Footed Ferrets. First of all, thank you for letting us know that they exist and especially that Travis is helping to vaccinate them. Really appreciate all that you do!!
Patti – WE are NOT blaming Prairie Dogs – on the contrary we are supportive. I thought that was clear…? If not, WE ARE SUPPORTIVE OF PRAIRE DOGS! Also, as noted in the article: “We manage our prairie rangelands for all species, including the prairie dogs.”
Santana – Our website is loaded with information on our large landscape, regenerative practices. We are also the only livestock ranch that is Regenerative Organic Certified, Organic Certified, 100% Grass-Fed Certified, Animal Welfare Certified, and Audubon Certified. I hope that is helpful. Check out the website for more detailed information! Thank you.
Am I correct in reading/hearing that the prairie dog burrows and tunnels also help ensure water retention on the grasslands, i.e., rain soaks in through the tunnels and burrows. Might make for a wet home for the prairie dogs, though.
But as always, I love your posts and photos along with Dan’s posts, too.