Black-tailed Prairie Dog, Sage Creek Valley, Badlands NP
There is no visit in the Badlands without reporting about one of the funniest critters on the planet, the Prairie Dogs. It seems like their populations has multiplied since we visited the park for the first time in 2005. Since a few years one of the prairie dog towns is right in Sage Creek Campground, the primitive but more remote campground of the two in the Badlands. The mounds are between the tents and their tunnel system can be right under your tent. The burrows help these little rodents to control their body temperature in winter and during summer. Members of a family group interact through oral contact or "kissing" and grooming one another. They do not perform these behaviors with prairie dogs from other family groups. [source: Wikipedia}
The key for a good picture is getting low to the ground. Shooting from the car is sometimes not low enough. Whenever possible I try to get at least one of the black-tipped tails in the picture, the feature that gave this species of ground squirrels its name.
All images: Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S