Saskatchewan Pt. II: Rodents

For part two I thought I'd post a few photos of mammals I saw during the trip.  The curious little guy in the first photo is a Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) - 'tridecemlineatus' meaning thirteen-lined in latin.  This one was in Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, but you couldn't drive a couple of kilometers without seeing ground squirrels on the roads (there are 4 species in Saskatchewan).  It's funny to watch them pop up onto their back legs to get a better view down the road of what's coming, only to play chicken with vehicles and scurry into the ditch (most of the time).  Much like the snakes in the last post have an affinity for roads, so too do the ground squirrels.

At Grasslands we checked out one of the Black-tailed Prairie Dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) colonies.  It's estimated that the park is home to about 25 colonies comprising 17,000 to 23,000 prairie dogs.  This species has been persecuted since European settlement and now has a much reduced range (Grasslands is the only place in Canada where they are found).  It is crucial to a range of other species within the grassland ecosystem including Burrowing Owls, American Badger, Swift Fox, Ferruginous Hawk, Short-horned Lizard, Prairie Rattlesnake, the list goes on.  No doubt a keystone species if there ever was one.  

Well isn't that cute?

Somewhat related, The Nature of Things ran an episode on the reintroduction of Black-footed Ferret (Mustela nigripes) to Grasslands N.P. a few years back, very interesting stuff, check it out.

Other memorable wildlife from the trip included Sprague's Pipit (Anthus spragueii), South Saskatchewan is prime breeding range for this grassland species and it was a real treat to hear a new song.  This species apparently has the longest known flight display of any bird.  The link above mentions that during a display, males will stay airborne for up to 30 minutes and one was once observed to have stayed in the air for 3 hours!

What I took from the trip as my favourite experience was driving down a gravel road south of Maple Creek (Hudderite colonies are essentially the only thing around), when an American Badger (Taxidea taxus) sauntered across the road about 50m in front of our vehicle. Then another, then a couple more, 5 in total!  Then a Coyote (Canis latrans) in pursuit.  American Badger is listed as S3S4 in Saskatchewan and Special Concern by COSEWIC (Endangered in Ontario).  It was unexpected to say the least and still a vivid image in my mind.