1606_2109 Prairie Dog Kiss
It's the end of January and I am officially tired of winter; unfortunately, we still have about six weeks of it remaining. But I'm craving the colour green, the sounds of birdsong and the sense of regeneration as new life explodes across the prairie. Yesterday I posted a shot of a prairie dog town in the dead of winter, swept by snow, held dormant in deep-freeze. Here's what a dogtown looks like in summer - quite a difference!
Do Black-tailed Prairie Dogs really kiss? Well, this is certainly a common sight; they often touch faces on greeting. Is it family bonding, identification, affection? Are they whispering secrets? Meanwhile one of their offspring appears to be trying to redefine togetherness. Ah, speculate away! At best we can say it's some form of complex social interaction that no doubt serves a purpose. Beyond that, who knows? Scientific data will never get us into the mind of another species.
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2016 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
1606_2109 Prairie Dog Kiss
It's the end of January and I am officially tired of winter; unfortunately, we still have about six weeks of it remaining. But I'm craving the colour green, the sounds of birdsong and the sense of regeneration as new life explodes across the prairie. Yesterday I posted a shot of a prairie dog town in the dead of winter, swept by snow, held dormant in deep-freeze. Here's what a dogtown looks like in summer - quite a difference!
Do Black-tailed Prairie Dogs really kiss? Well, this is certainly a common sight; they often touch faces on greeting. Is it family bonding, identification, affection? Are they whispering secrets? Meanwhile one of their offspring appears to be trying to redefine togetherness. Ah, speculate away! At best we can say it's some form of complex social interaction that no doubt serves a purpose. Beyond that, who knows? Scientific data will never get us into the mind of another species.
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2016 James R. Page - all rights reserved.