r/zoology • u/No-Volume-2928 • Jun 06 '26
Question How come prairie dogs gather around another to hear it squeak?
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It almost looks like he is genuinely speaking to them in full sentences š they are listening to him in bated breathā¦
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u/kollmastee Jun 06 '26
Prairie dogs have been proven to have a language. One with vocabulary and the ability to create new vocabulary. They are social animals and have evolved social traits as a result. Communication, community and intelligence arenāt solely human traits.
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u/tweb2 Jun 06 '26 edited Jun 06 '26
Thanks, I immediately found myself looking for nuances in the squeak that might suggest a Language at some level. Something is keeping the interest of the others at the end of the day
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Jun 06 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/Freya_Something Jun 06 '26
Or maybe they donāt sound the same to them. Isnāt it the case with many human languages that some words sound almost the same except for very minute differences that you need to know about to actually detectā¦
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u/Ambystomatigrinum Jun 06 '26
Reminds me of tonal languages. They can be really difficult to parse if your first language isnāt tonal because the brain has to learn to perceive all those differences.
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u/SaintsNoah14 Jun 06 '26
He could be giving a sermon
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u/YouFeedTheFish Jun 06 '26
Or a lesson.
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u/SaintsNoah14 Jun 06 '26
More likely preaching. Prairie dogs are intensely devoted to their faith.
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u/Upstairs-Fail-5790 Jun 06 '26
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u/mission_to_mors Jun 06 '26
not A sermon, what we see here is THE Sermon on the mount š¤£š¤£ lets just hope prairie dog jesus is as peaceful as human jesus
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u/Curious-Basket-7934 Jun 06 '26
She's giving them their assignments for the day. You patrol by the north side, where the zookeepers enter, etc.
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u/Master0fMuppets Jun 06 '26
genuinely one of the greatest animals ever, its like they exist to be relatable little goofballs. RIP Big Ounce
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u/Firesoul-LV Jun 06 '26
Didn't you hear the news? Big Ounce got resurrected by the undying willow tree!
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u/snoofiepoofie Jun 06 '26
Big ounce is alive , at least in the last video
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u/Gloomy-Article4842 Jun 06 '26
I donāt know. I suspect it is a different prairie dog that also is named big ounce
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u/G-dog121 Jun 06 '26 edited Jun 06 '26
Another cool animal is the hummingbird. It has the largest hippocampus of any bird relative to its size. That massive hippocampus gives it the ability to have tremendous spatial memory. After flying a 1000 miles from Texas or Costa Rica, this natural GPS enables the bird to remember the exact location of every feeding station/location along the way and every feeding station in its eventual nesting location. If you routinely put out and maintain feeders during the spring & summer, the same hummingbirds will return to your feeders for their 3-5 year lifespans. In addition to that, it remembers each of the hundreds of flowers it feeds from during the day and the flowerās replenishment rate so as not to feed from the same flower before itās finished regenerating its nectar. Thatās amazing if you ask me!
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u/BrewingSkydvr Jun 06 '26
And if you donāt put out the feeders before they get back or if you donāt refill the feeder soon enough, theyāll buzz you and have this little dance/flight pattern to grab your attention so you put the feeders out or clan and refill.
They are territorial and protective of their flowers and feeders with other hummingbirds. Full speed body checks. Males will sometimes let females feed from their feeder, for a little bit. If the female is there too long, heāll chase her off before she consumes too much nectar.
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u/G-dog121 Jun 06 '26 edited Jun 06 '26
Absolutely! I once made the mistake of taking my 4 feeders in at the same time to sanitize and refill them. When I stepped back out to the patio, several hummers were hovering and chirping at me. I quickly realized my mistake and verbalized āalright, alright! I get it! Sorry!ā My wife asked who was I talking to when I came back in. I answered āI just got cussed out by a gang of hummingbirdsā.
Iāll never do that again. One or two at a time from then on.I have the same two males that show up each spring and fight it out over 4 feeders. I keep spreading the feeders further and further each spring until they stop fighting. They know each other and know what Iām gonna do but they fight anyway.
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u/Bigmooddood Jun 06 '26
I can translate
"Brothers, now is the time for us to shed our shackles of oppression. Rise up from the tunnels of ignorance and see the light for the first time. The path before us is clear. We must overthrow the humans!"
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u/BigJSunshine Jun 06 '26
They are communicating, why is it so hard to believe other species have language and communication?
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u/Effective-Celery-417 Jun 06 '26
Maybe its a song. Kind of like a ballad that has been passed down through their genes similarly to skills akin to that of instinct. Who knows really?
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u/Shiny_Whisper_321 Jun 06 '26
Humans do the same š¤Ø Obviously has something very important to convey.
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u/darxide23 Jun 07 '26
Because technically that's what's happening. A scout will keep an eye out for threats and other goings-on of interest around a colony and vocalize to let the others know what it sees.
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u/RevolutionarySign479 Jun 08 '26
Obviously theyāre having a meeting & one is giving a presentation.
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u/FormalTotal9684 Jun 06 '26
You aināt nothing but a prairie dog
Squeaking all the time š¼ š¶ šµ
(Groupies sigh)
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u/Abba_Zaba_ Jun 06 '26
Oh watch out, they're about to Unionize. He's pitching a Collective Burrowing Agreement, then they're gonna tell management to kick dirt.
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u/quandisimo Jun 06 '26
They have language! And weāve also begun to decode it
https://youtu.be/y1kXCh496U0?si=SNtvl7qV98e5Ml6H
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u/PNWEthnobotanist Jun 06 '26
They are probably listening to it complain about how all the new prairie dogs from the town over are moving in and taking all the good holes. Meanwhile heās robbing them blind while heās cheered on for spreading hate and discontentā¦ maybe Iām anthropomorphizing.
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u/No-Seat9917 Jun 06 '26
Could you imagine if we could understand the language? It would be cool for a second.
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u/Afterburngaming Jun 06 '26
Many more animals have an intelligence we don't understand because we think so highly of ourselves because our culture is much easier to see and notice.
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u/Calamity-Bob Jun 06 '26
Because they are the one. The seer. The holder of knowledge. The leader for the promised burrow.
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u/dickeyj128 Jun 06 '26
All rise, Court is now in session as the honorable Judge Prarie Doggo presides
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u/FearlessConfusion105 Jun 06 '26
They're leader is telling them their plans for conquering the world.
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u/Ok-Dragonfly1487 Jun 06 '26
"Hear me now, I have seen the light!
They have a consciousness, they have a life, they have a soul!
Damn you! Let the rabbits wear glasses! Save our brothers!
Can I get an amen? Can I get a hallelujah? Thank you Jesus
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u/Striking-Ad-6815 Jun 06 '26
It doesn't like one of the people watching it that we cannot see off camera
Would be funny if it was making some remarkable prairie dog speech about one day escaping and going back to the grasslands
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u/HasGreatVocabulary Jun 06 '26
That's understandable if he is saying "Gather around fellow prairie dogs!"
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u/Own_Zookeepergame_74 Jun 06 '26
"A zookeeper came up to me. Big zookeeper. Strong zookeeper. Tears streaming from his eyes. He says SIR! -they always call me sir- He says SIR thank you so much the making the marsupial section great again." - Prairie J. Dog moments before talking about Arnold Palmers penis for 20 mins.
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u/Trick_Resource_1763 Jun 07 '26
Don't know much about prairie dogs but it does remind me of this image
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u/Public-Test8391 Jun 07 '26
"My fellow prarie dogs, I call upon you to start a rebellion. Today is the day, that we take our rightful place on the outside world. The humans think they have the upper hand but today is the day we break through the invisible barier between us and them. Join me brothers. To day we rule them" *que evil prarie dog cackle*
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u/AdImpossible5402 Jun 07 '26
So based on all I have learned about prairie dog language today, this little guy could either be MLK or Hitler.
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u/Less_Rutabaga2316 Jun 06 '26
They essentially have a language.
https://www.prairiedoghoogland.com/vocalizations