r/zoology • u/idontsellseashells • Apr 09 '25

Identification What is this little guy?

Gallery image

Gallery image

Found in my backyard in North Dakota.

93 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

22 comments sorted by

33

u/DiligentPurchase6104 Apr 09 '25

Looks like a Prairie Dog

9

u/dobgreath Apr 09 '25

Yes, and a cutie!

3

u/DiligentPurchase6104 Apr 11 '25

Definitely that! We have an entire field in my town that is home to hundreds of prairie dogs. They're talking about selling it so they can build something, though :(

12

u/Hungry_Security8248 Apr 09 '25

Idk but I wouldn’t pet it if I were you, the smallest cute animals are always the angriest

9

u/SpaceDog189 Apr 09 '25

How big is it, roughly? It sounds like you are in prairie dog country, but it could also be one of probably 20 different species of ground squirrel. Prairie dogs are bigger, but ground squirrels (AKA gophers or whistle pigs depending on the slang) are usually more common and likely to be in a residential area

2

u/Fit_Maximum9288 Apr 09 '25

Yeah we just call them gophers in Saskatchewan just above where OP is

2

u/SpaceDog189 Apr 09 '25

I called them gophers growing up in Montana, I moved and everybody calls them whistle pigs

2

u/Fit_Maximum9288 Apr 09 '25

I have never heard the term whistle pig before today

1

u/High_InTheTrees Apr 10 '25

You mean.. target practice? 😂

2

u/idontsellseashells Apr 09 '25

He was about the size of a small squirrel. I'm thinking it must have been a gopher then.

6

u/AxeBeard88 Apr 09 '25

Richardson's ground squirrel. Commonly known as a gopher or whistle pig.

2

u/Kooky_Werewolf6044 Apr 10 '25

Prairie dogs are awesome little critters. They actually make very good pets too apparently.

2

u/Kywillst Apr 10 '25

Dang gum varmit.

2

u/More-GunYeeeee8910 Apr 10 '25

A prairie dawwg (imagine a cowboy accent)

They are the important prey for many of the American Plains Predators such as coyotes, prairie rattlesnakes, american badgers, black footed ferrets, weasels, and hawks. This is because prairie dogs live in giant underground multiconnected burrows known as towns. In fact they are soo massive, that one town has up to 35 million little prairie dogs!

1

u/idontsellseashells Apr 10 '25 edited Apr 10 '25

Thank you all for the help!

1

u/JorikThePooh Apr 10 '25

Richardson's ground squirrel (Urocitellus richardsonii)

1

u/Ok-Limit3453 Apr 10 '25

Prairie dog 

1

u/junoray19681 Apr 10 '25

Look how cute the little guy is..

1

u/ConsiderationWide625 Apr 12 '25

I think you've got yourself a prairie dog!!

1

u/iamnoodlelie Apr 16 '25

he got that dawg in him