Episode 13: Prairie Dogs with Jessie McQuilliams

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INTRODUCTION (00:00)

*Music- You and me the adventure, me and you to the Zoo*

EMILY BISHOP: Hello and welcome to the Sedgwick County ZooCast where we are inspiring respect and conservation for wildlife and wild places through caring, connecting, and conserving.

I’m your host, Emily Bishop, and today on the ZooCast, we’ll be sitting down with Zookeeper Jessie McQuilliams to talk about Prairie Dogs. Keep listening to learn what a keystone species is, just how many prairie dogs call Sedgwick County Zoo home, and how prairie dogs alert each other that danger is near.

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LEARN ABOUT PRAIRIE DOGS / INTERVIEW WITH ZOOKEEPER JESSIE MCQUILLIAMS (00:44)

BISHOP: Once again, thank you so much for joining us today in the ZooCast. So, if just to get started, you could give an introduction and talk about who you are and what you do here at the Zoo.

JESSIE MCQUILLIAMS: So, my name is Jessie and I work in the North America prairie section of our Zoo. So, basically, I take care of… I’m a primary keeper of the bison, the cougars, otters, prairie dogs, and then black-footed ferrets.

BISHOP: So, can you kind of walk us through what your average day looks like?

MCQILLIAMS: So, for me, average day is basically making sure that everybody’s okay, first thing, and then starting on morning medications, morning breakfast for everyone. Because if I’m too late with some of them, get a little bit of a hangry issue, especially with bison, they get hangry. And then basically go through cleaning stuff, getting animals out so people couldn’t see them and just continue on with your day.

BISHOP: So, how did you first get started working in the prairie?

MCQUILLIAMS: In the prairie… I came from sunset zoo in Manhattan, Kansas. And moved here and then started volunteering here first and then just kind of happened into a part-time job and then a full-time job.

BISHOP: So, for our non-Midwest listeners, what is a prairie dog?

MCQUILLIAMS: So, a prairie dog is a type of a… we’re going to call it a rodent. So, it’s basically… it’s kind of similar to like a groundhog. Kind of similar shape, but not really. And they’re also… there’s just these really cute chubby rodents that like to bark at you.

BISHOP: Yeah, so we have black-tailed prairie dogs here at the Zoo. And how do they differ from other species of prairie dogs?

MCQUILLIAMS: So, there’s four or five other species of prairie dogs, most of them that I’m aware of live at different elevations than ours. So, they may be a little bit slower, come winter, because they kind of go into a little bit of torpor, whereas ours don’t. Ours are still just as active in winter as they are in summer. Unless they don’t like to snow and then they’ll stay inside.

BISHOP: Yeah. Can you explain what torpor is?

MCQUILLIAMS: So, basically, it’s just for fall to winter months. Basically, it’s… your metabolism slows down. You don’t eat as much, you don’t need as much food to, you know, be energetic. Because you’re sleeping most of the time.

BISHOP: Yeah. And our prairie dogs don’t do that because they’re used to the weather?

MCQUILLIAMS: Yes.

BISHOP: Yeah. So how many prairie dogs do we have here at Sedgwick County Zoo?

MCQUILLIAMS: I was thinking about that the other day. And usually, it’s averaging right around 100.

BISHOP: Oh, wow.

MCQUILLIAMS: So, maybe plus or minus that much?

BISHOP: Around 100? Are they usually all out on exhibit? Or are some of them behind the scenes?

MCQUILLIAMS: Nope. We don’t have any behind the scenes. They’re all in the exhibit. But they may… some of them may feel more comfortable underground. Whereas some of them may be out all the time.

BISHOP: Do any of them have names? Or are they identified through other means?

MCQUILLIAMS: So, since there are so many prairie dogs, we don’t actually have names for them. I can kind of identify some of my… like when I’m trapping, when we have babies and send them to other zoos. I usually have some regulars that come into my trap, so I can recognize those on site. But otherwise, it’s just… as long as everyone’s healthy. I don’t recognize anybody unless someone has a problem and then catch them up. Yeah.

BISHOP: So, what is the age range on the prairie dogs we have?

MCQUILLIAMS: So, we tend to try to send most of our baby prairie dogs off to different facilities that request them because we usually have quite a few babies and we can’t keep them in our exhibit. So, mainly, I think we have- we have some yearlings right now. So not this year’s past babies but the year before. And then we- mainly the ones you’re going to see up are going to be our older ones that are more used to people coming up and aren’t as scared of things around the exhibit. Whereas our yearlings are… you aren’t going to see them very often unless they’re in the back.

BISHOP: What’s the average lifespan on the prairie dogs?

MCQUILLIAMS: I want to say it’s about… I actually have no idea. I think we have some in our exhibit currently that are between 10 and 15. So they’re, they’re up there.

BISHOP: So, what do the prairie dogs eat?

MCQUILLIAMS: So, we are feed our prairie dogs prairie hay. They have that all the time. Because they live in an exhibit that is mainly dirt. So, I can’t get anything to grow in that exhibit. I’ve tried so many times. Nothing will grow in there, whether it’s because they don’t get enough water or the prairie dogs just demolish them. So, they eat prairie hay, and then we give them rodent biscuits, to help with their teeth. And then once a week, they get a root vegetable. So, sweet potato, potatoes, carrots. And then we also put in a biscuit, it’s a protein biscuit that the- it’s actually for apes, that they get, and it gives them all their proteins and fats. And then they get greens every day.

BISHOP: Do you have a way of making sure that they all get fed, since there are so many, or is it kind of more of a free for all?

MCQUILLIAMS: It is kind of a free for all. I do keep an eye… can kind of- I check on them every day. But I can kind of tell who looks like they’re a little bit skinnier. I don’t know if you’ve seen our prairie dogs, but they’re pretty plump.

BISHOP: Yeah.

MCQUILLIAMS: And they don’t eat that much. So, I keep an eye out for some of our older prairie dogs, or are younger ones that seem like they’re not getting enough. And then I make sure that we scatter food closer to them, so that they get their proper amount.

BISHOP: So, our prairie dogs can be found at the North American prairie habitat. But what is a prairie dog’s habitat like in the wild?

MCQUILLIAMS: So, in the wild, it’d be obviously in the plains. So, tall grass, where they are, that would be shorter grass because their mounds would rise up. And they have to keep the grass around it shorter so they can see predators coming towards them, kind of as a lookout. And then they… you’d have your family group. Maybe have a couple family groups, you may have a coterie hanging out over there and then a ways away, then you’d have another group. Ours are really close together. So, they don’t have as much space to- to move around. But out in the wild there’d be quite a few of them.

BISHOP: Yeah, can you talk a bit more about like the burrows that they live in and how their tunnel systems work?

MCQUILLIAMS: So, the tunnel systems- basically it goes down about 10 to 15 feet, they have multiple entrances and exits. That’s why in the past when, you know, farmers have tried to get rid of them by shooting water down the hole, it doesn’t work out because the water goes everywhere. But then they have holes for like storage- for food storage, they have holes for sleeping- little burrows, they also have some for waste. And then some of them are just past burrows that they filled in. They also tend to bury their… prairie dogs that have passed below ground then they just kind of wall them up in a burrow and then continue tunneling in a different direction.

BISHOP: Yeah, how does the tunnel system at the Zoo work? Like, what keeps them from getting out?

MCQUILLIAMS: So, there is steel mesh on the bottom. So, it’s down about 10 to 12 feet. So that- that is what keeps them in there. And the other part is the fact that their exhibit is a bowl shape so that the… the sides curve up. Because I have seen them… If you are listening to this and you did not know, prairie dogs are the escape artists of the animal world. They will do anything to get out.

BISHOP: That’s cool. I love our prairie dog exhibit. I love the way that it’s set up how you can see them all and they’re always poking up.

MCQUILLIAMS: Right. I’d wish from our grass but that’s just me. I’ve tried. I keep trying

BISHOP: I figured it was… I always assumed it was like, purposeful that there wasn’t grass because I figured the prairie dogs would either eat it all or just like didn’t like it.

MCQUILLIAMS: No, they do just eat it all.

BISHOP: Yeah

MCQUILLIAMS: I’ve tried- we even tried honeysuckle in there. It didn’t make it.

BISHOP: Just doesn’t work.

MCQUILLIAMS: No, they just can’t handle it.

BISHOP: So, Prairie dogs are a keystone species. So, can you explain what that means?

MCQUILLIAMS: So, prairie dogs being the keystone species of the prairie. Basically, if you come down to our… I guess it’s our black-footed ferret exhibit. It basically gives you an underground view of what the burrows look like. So basically, predator and prey species are benefited from prairie dogs being in an area, because obviously, if you’re a predator, then you can use the burrows for your own, to den up in, have kits, babies, whatever. But then you can also eat prairie dogs.

And then if you’re a prey species, then having the prairie dogs there and they, you know, go through, they enrich the grass, because they’re always pooping over there. They keep stuff kind of shorter around them. So, no one’s going to fall in a prairie dog hole. But everyone in the ecosystem benefits from having p- prairie dogs. Sorry, I don’t want to call them p-dogs so bad- in… in the environment.

BISHOP: Do they like, abandon their burrows? Or is it kind of like, they build it, and then that’s where they’re going to be at?

MCQUILLIAMS: They tend to remodel after every rain, at least in our exhibit they do. So, they’ll redo the entrances. Maybe they’ll close up a tunnel and then restart one somewhere else. Maybe a tunnel has collapsed previously and they kinda don’t want to use that one anymore. So, they’re always improving. I can’t say that they’re doing that underground, too. I don’t know what they’re doing.

BISHOP: Yeah

MCQUILLIAMS: Because I only see the top.

BISHOP: What they’re doing underground is their business.

MCQUILLIAMS: Yep, pretty much.

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LEARN ABOUT WINTER WEDNESDAY (11:35)

BISHOP: We’ll be back in a moment to learn more about prairie dogs. But first, let’s hear about a limited time event that helps you save money when you visit the Zoo.

Every Wednesday from November through February enjoy Winter Wednesdays at the Zoo. Admission is discounted all day.

Maybe watch your favorite animals frolic in the snow, step into the tropics building to warm up, or sip on a cup of cocoa from the beastro.

Additional information can be found at scz.org

Bundle up and come on down to the Sedgwick County Zoo for a Wild Winter Wednesday.

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ANSWERING QUESTIONS FROM THE AUDIENCE (12:17)

BISHOP: Now, we have some questions from the audience. And these questions were all submitted to us through our Instagram- @SedgwickCountyZoo.

So, @Cali689 wants to know, “do prairie dogs lose teeth?”

MCQUILLIAMS: So, we actually have a whole bunch of different logs in our exhibit. And it’s- it’s to encourage the prairie dogs to gnaw on different things. Because their teeth are ever growing because they are rodents. So, that helps them kind of keep them chewed down and stuff like that. And if they don’t, then, like I have one right now in the exhibit that I’m keeping an eye on because she’s got a really long tooth that needs to be cut. She’s having a little trouble eating.

BISHOP: @DeborahFromPublishing asks, “do prairie dogs raise the babies all as a collective group?”

MCQUILLIAMS: It depends. So, when they’re really little, they kind of stay in their family group. But in that family, there’s usually a male- an alpha male and then a bunch of other subordinate males. And then you’ve got your females. So, there’s multiple females in a family group. So, they may help raise the babies, but they do… once they are five weeks old, then they’ve come up above ground. And usually after like 10 weeks, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen a group where they just kind of let their babies go in the middle of the exhibit. And there were like 30 babies, and like two adults watching.

BISHOP: Yeah

MCQUILLIAMS: And I was like, I would hate to be those two adults, because a lot of babies. So it was just this big pile of baby prairie dogs just wrestling and having fun.

BISHOP: @Seuraya.Lyn asks, “why do they randomly squeak and throw up their arms?”

MCQUILLIAMS: Sothat is one of my favorite questions. So that is a greeting in prairie dog. So that’s… it serves one as a greeting but also two as an all-clear. So, they do that, like so if I go in the exhibit to service anything, they immediately alert calls where I am and as soon as I pass them, you know, get close enough they’ll go down and then as soon as I get out of the exhibit someone will do the whoop call and raise their hands in the air and that’s an all clear. The predator is gone. Like, it’s safe to come out.

BISHOP: That’s cool. They do that a lot.

MCQUILLIAMS: Yes.

BISHOP: And usually together I’ve noticed

MCQUILLIAMS: Well, if one gives an all clear then it kind of goes throughout the exhibit. Oh hey, I’m all clear over here and over here.

BISHOP: Yeah, like a like a big game of telephone

MCQUILLIAMS: Kind of. You know, just like a wave of prairie dogs just whoo.

BISHOP: Whoo

@JSZambenni wants to know, “can they run on their hind legs or only stand on them?”

MCQUILLIAMS: So, they only stand on their back legs. It’s usually as a lookout to make them taller. I mean, you’re only like six inches taller at that point, but it gives you a little bit of… of height. Otherwise, they run on their four legs.

BISHOP: @Lil.Mama.Lair asks, “do they have bubonic plague?”

MCQUILLIAMS: Ours do not have bubonic plague. We actually, I’m not even sure that we… okay, they might have fleas. But we keep a close eye on ours. And they do not.

BISHOP: Ours don’t. In the wild, they can be carriers?

MCQUILLIAMS: They can. Yeah.

BISHOP: But less… less common, I think.

MCQUILLIAMS: Yes.

BISHOP: So, @Mr.Weller316 asks, “do prairie dogs mate for life? And if so, do they stay together as one family unit?”

MCQUILLIAMS: So, as far as I’ve seen, they don’t really mate for life. They may stay in their family group. But I actually have in my group of- in my exhibit, there’s a group of prairie dogs, which I call the single mothers group. And they’re hanging out next to the front glass… is they’ve been chased out of their holes by their group. And they have nowhere else to go. So, they hang out at the front all together.

BISHOP: Do they… Do prairie dogs have like a breeding season? Or is it kind of year-round?

MCQUILLIAMS: Breeding season? Yes. So, breeding season starts at the end of January. And it goes usually through March. So actually, they- they already started, they started preparations for this in… I want to say November. So, they’ve already started separating their territories. And I’ve been starting putting up visual barriers for them to kind of curb the aggression a little bit since they can’t go anywhere. And it kind of gives them a safe zone. So, it is- it is coming end of January. So, we’ll see how it goes this year.

BISHOP: Lots of… lots of baby prairie dogs in the future.

MCQUILLIAMS: Yeah. We already have 100 prairie dogs. I don’t know how many more we need.

BISHOP: What’s- what’s 100 more?

MCQUILLIAMS: That’s too many. I mean, they may have like three to five babies in a litter but…

BISHOP: Oh gosh, that is a lot.

MCQUILLIAMS: Yes.

BISHOP: @JacobSpencer360 asks, “how do they survive the winter?”

MCQUILLIAMS: So, winter, usually all summer… spring, summer, fall there, whenever we give them hay, sometimes we give them out oat grass, too. If we have enough. That’s homegrown here. They’ll store it down below. And they usually have a couple burrows down below where they- they overwinter and snuggle… snuggle buddies up together.

And otherwise, we do feed them every day. So, if they want to come above ground, they can come and grab some food and then go back down. Usually, if it’s snowing, you won’t see any prairie dogs until it stops snowing, and then you’ll see a bunch out but only for like five minutes until they’re too cold. And then they just go back down. Because as soon as you go down into the burrow, it’s usually about eight to 10 inches, it drops in temperature. In the summer. It drops, like if it’s 100 above ground, then below ground it’s like 85. So same goes for winter, but it gets… it’s more humid underground, so it stays a little bit warmer.

BISHOP: I noticed our prairie dogs- I love them. They’re very, very plump, very Rubenesque. And is that like, a winter weight? Because it’s the winter or are they always round?

MCQUILLIAMS: They’re always round. We did have a nutritionist come a while back to kind of help us with our diet for the prairie dogs to make them skinnier. It’s not really working real well, because we scatter feed so we can’t tell who’s getting what. And sometimes they run all over the exhibit so they can eat food on the other side if they want to do so. I can’t guarantee that they’re all getting what they’re supposed to. So, we do cut back in the winter because there aren’t as many out, we don’t want to waste food. But no, they’re not supposed to be that big. But that’s usually a common theme in in zoos is your prairie dogs will probably be plump.

BISHOP: Finally, @KeatonRupp wants to know, “how can we help with prairie dog conservation efforts?”

MCQUILLIAMS: I don’t… I don’t know that we currently have any prairie dog conservation things going on right now. We’ve got the black-footed ferret conservation stuff which we support. Which actually benefits the prairie dogs because it’s a space set aside for prairie dogs, because black-footed ferrets need prairie dogs just survive. So basically, we have to keep that population healthy so that the ferrets can make it out there.

BISHOP: So, like, aiding in, like ferret conservation, helps aid in the prairie dog conservation.

MCQUILLLIAMS: Yep. Because ferrets can’t survive without prairie dogs. Because prairie dogs are the keystone species and make up 90-95% of the ferrets’ diet.

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LEARN ABOUT ZOO MEMBERSHIP (20:12)

BISHOP: Before Jesse and I finish our conversation about prairie dogs, let’s hear how you can experience more perks when you visit the Zoo.

Where can you find lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my? At the Sedgwick County Zoo of course. Feed a giraffe, ride a train, and learn all about your favorite animal. And Zoo Members get to experience even more fun.

For as low as $85 per person you get to experience unlimited visits to the Zoo, early entry, discounts on special events, and early access to the Sedgwick County ZooCast.

Become a member today. Visit scz.org/membership for more information.

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CLOSING THOUGHTS ON PRAIRIE DOGS (20:58)

BISHOP: So as an ending note, I just have a few more questions.

So, what question are you asked the most by guests about the prairie dogs?

MCQUILLIAMS: I feel like it’s usually something like are they groundhogs? No, they are they are not groundhogs. Shape wise, they’re… how do I want to put it? They’re not pear shaped like a groundhog? Sorry.

Or, or usually it’s you know, where are they? Have you taken them inside? Because if I’m in the exhibit, they all hide because it’s a predator that just came in. It’s either that or it’s usually during trapping. Like, why are you… why are these traps out? Why are you trapping them? We can’t have that many in the exhibit. So, we… they have to go somewhere.

BISHOP: Is that the- the main reason for the trapping? Is to help with when there are babies, getting them out of the exhibit?

MCQUILLIAMS: Yes.

BISHOP: So, what is your favorite thing about working with the prairie dogs at SCZ?

MCQUILLIAMS: I mean, they always keep me on my toes. Because there’s always something new happening in the exhibit with them. I mean, 100-ish prairie dogs, it’s never dull.

BISHOP: What is your favorite thing about prairie dogs?

MCQUILLIAMS: So, I’m a big fan of baby prairie dogs. Because they have no idea what they’re doing. Absolutely no idea. Because they’ll… This last season for baby prairie dogs, had a mom prairie dog showing the baby how to dig dirt. And he was so excited, like he looked thrilled. He was just doing the digging, and then mom would come over be like no, like, move the dirt over here. Not over there. Like what are you doing? Like stop like, it just… they just, because they’ll also do the whoop call. And usually they fall over, which is pretty hilarious.

BISHOP: They don’t… they don’t have a clue what’s going on.

MCQUILLIAMS: They have no idea. I know I’ve also seen the ones that it’s there… They think they’re old enough to do the alert bark. And then they get too scared. Then they go down and they’re like, ope never mind.

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OUTRO (23:04)

BISHOP: Thanks for listening to the Sedgwick County ZooCast.

This podcast is recorded on the traditional land of the Kiowa, Osage, Wichita, and Ute people, who have been stewards of the land since time immemorial.

This episode was researched, written, and produced by me, Emily Bishop.

We’d like to give a special thank you to Jessie McQuilliams for sitting down and talking with us about prairie dogs.

Thank you to the Sedgwick County Zoo’s, Marketing and Communication team. And a special thank you to our Zoo Members who support makes this podcast possible. If you’re interested in becoming a Zoo Member, visit scz.org/membership.

Be sure to give us a follow so you never miss when we upload new episodes.

Thanks again for listening. Until next time, I’m Emily Bishop and this has been the Sedgwick County ZooCast.