These burrowing rodents built a massive underground city the size of a small country.

Nature · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Forget the name; prairie dogs are not canines, but highly social squirrels. These master engineers construct elaborate subterranean towns featuring nurseries, sleeping quarters, and sophisticated ventilation. Once numbering in the hundreds of millions across vast North American plains, these charismatic rodents remain one of the most complex social architects in nature.

Prairie dogs, members of the squirrel family, are far more than simple burrowers. They live in structured societies organized into coteries—extended family groups that cooperate to forage, groom, and defend their territory. Their communication is remarkably nuanced, utilizing specific alarm calls that vary depending on the type of predator approaching, whether it be a coyote, badger, or golden eagle. When danger passes, they even signal an all-clear to the rest of the colony.

The scale of their engineering is staggering. While typical colonies cover less than half a square mile, historical records describe a colossal settlement in Texas that spanned 65,000 square kilometers, housing an estimated 400 million individuals. These towns are not just holes in the ground; they are intricate systems of tunnels and chambers designed for thermoregulation, providing a stable environment that protects the inhabitants from extreme surface temperatures and weather events like blizzards or prairie fires.

Despite their ecological importance, these rodents have faced a precipitous decline. During the 20th century, poisoning programs and the conversion of grasslands into agricultural land decimated their numbers, with populations dropping by about 98 percent. Today, they occupy only a fraction of their historic range. This loss is felt across the ecosystem, as many other species, including burrowing owls and the endangered black-footed ferret, rely on these abandoned tunnels for shelter and survival.

Their biology is equally specialized. While some species, like the white-tailed prairie dog, hibernate for up to six months, black-tailed prairie dogs remain active throughout the winter, relying on physiological adaptations to manage their metabolism when food is scarce. They do not store food in their burrows, instead emerging to forage on grasses and seeds whenever conditions allow. This constant activity and their role as a keystone species make them essential to the health of the North American grasslands.

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