Q 01/05

Utah prairie dogs in the same family greet each other with which gesture, withheld from outsiders?

A) Tail wagging

B) Kissing

C) Head bobbing

D) Foot drumming

Answer · why

B) Kissing

Kissing, a quick touch of mouths, is how prairie dogs in one family group interact; they also groom each other but never do either with animals from o...

Q 02/05

The Utah prairie dog is a rodent, so which trait earned prairie dogs the canine half of their name?

A) Their tail-wagging greetings

B) Their keen sense of smell

C) Their bark-like call

D) Their pack hunting

Answer · why

C) Their bark-like call

Their bark-like call is a warning that sounds like a dog's bark. The name was in use by 1774, and one early traveler likened the animals' yelp to that...

Q 03/05

Which national park holds an annual Utah Prairie Dog Day with ranger-led viewing of its colonies?

A) Bryce Canyon

B) Capitol Reef

C) Canyonlands

D) Grand Canyon

Answer · why

A) Bryce Canyon

Bryce Canyon brought Utah prairie dogs back through a reintroduction program, and visitors can watch them in the meadows along the road near the visit...

Q 04/05

Despite the canine name, the burrowing Utah prairie dog belongs to which group of rodents?

A) Pocket gophers

B) Mountain beavers

C) Ground squirrels

D) Guinea pigs

Answer · why

C) Ground squirrels

Ground squirrels are the group that includes prairie dogs, marmots and chipmunks. All sit in the same family as tree-dwelling species, though prairie ...

Q 05/05

Which disease, also dangerous to people, can kill nearly every animal in a Utah prairie dog colony?

A) Plague

B) Rabies

C) Anthrax

D) Hantavirus

Answer · why

A) Plague

Plague in wildlife is called sylvatic plague, and it comes from the same bacterium that causes bubonic plague in people. Outbreaks can kill close to 1...