Tag: Oklahoma

2025 · Wildlife Wednesday

Black-tailed Prairie Dog (Cynomys ludovicianus)

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This little Prairie Dog is on the lookout at the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.

The Black-tailed Prairie Dog is one of the most social ground squirrels, living communally in large underground networks called “towns.” Named for the bark-like warning they give when predators are nearby, prairie dogs have an interesting social life, are ecologically important to the prairie ecosystem, and have seen drastic declines since 1900. 

Weighing in at two-and-a-half to three pounds, these gregari­ous rodents are primarily light brown with a black-tipped tail. The tan coloration serves as a predator defense; blending into the habitat allows prairie dogs to escape from hawks circling overhead and coyotes hunting from the ground. Like most rodents, prairie dogs are herbivores that feed on grasses and annual forbs. This diet keeps the surrounding area clipped, encouraging desired forbs to grow while improving predator detection. 

Found in dry, upland shortgrass and mixed-grass prairies, these rodents have well-developed forefeet for digging and maintain their extensive burrows. Entrances to the burrows are typically volcano-shaped and provide ventilation to the system, serve as lookout posts, and even help keep water out of the town. Prairie dog towns are surprisingly complicated. Dropping 10-15 feet from the surface at the main entrance, the primary tunnel can extend 50 feet or more. Several chambers can be found at the end of secondary tunnels, used separately for caching food, nesting, and even defecation.

 :https://www.wildlifedepartment.com/wildlife/field-guide/mammals/black-tailed-prairie-dog

2025 · National Day Calendar

National Bison Day 2025 🦬

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Bison in the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge

The official National Mammal of the United States, the iconic North American Bison, has played a cultural, economic, and environmental role in the country’s history. Central to the livelihood of Native Americans, they are also a healthy food source and vital to religious ceremonies. The bison is the largest land mammal in North America, with males weighing up to 2,000 pounds and standing up to 6 feet tall. While cows may be smaller at 1,000 pounds and up to 5 feet tall, they’re still mighty powerful. However, Bison only live up to 20 years. The dark brown to black, thick, shaggy coat of the full-grown bison keeps them warm during long, cold winters on the plains. When they’re born, the calves sport a reddish coat. While giant herds once covered the plains, hunters nearly decimated them by the 1800s. Now, bison populate all 50 states, living in national parks, refuges, and on tribal and private lands.

: https://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-day/

2025 · Wildlife Wednesday

Texas Longhorn (Bos primigenius)

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Longhorns in the Meadow

The Texas Longhorn is an American breed of beef cattle, characterized by its long horns, which can span more than 8 ft (2.4 m) from tip to tip. It derives from cattle brought from the Iberian Peninsula to the Americas by Spanish conquistadores from the time of the Second Voyage of Christopher Columbus until about 1512. For hundreds of years, the cattle lived a semi-feral existence on the rangelands; they have a higher tolerance to heat and drought than most European breeds.[6] It can be of any color or mix of colors. In some 40% of the cattle, it is some shade of red, often a light red; the only shade of red not seen is the deep color typical of the Hereford. In the twenty-first century, it is considered part of the cultural heritage of Texas.

:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Longhorn

2025 · National Day Calendar

World Lizard Day 2025 🦎

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Common Collared Lizard

Like many odd holidays, the origins of World Lizard Day are unclear. Don’t let its murky beginnings dissuade you from celebrating this wholesome day, though. The species is dying out worldwide due to ignorance and lack of attention. The day may be about lizards, but we can’t pass up on the opportunity to tell you more about reptiles in general. It’s the spirit of the day after all!

All reptiles are air-breathing vertebrates covered in scales, plates of bone, or a combination of both. Species of this family include snakes, lizards, crocodiles, and tortoises. All of these shed their skin and depend on the environment to regulate their body temperatures. This dependence on outside factors when it comes to regulating their core body temperatures means that reptiles have to find sun and shade to warm up or cool down. In areas that have colder winters, reptiles generally experience a period of inactivity until the weather grows warmer again.

Lizards are no different, which is why you see them sunning themselves in your warm garden or on the bricks that soak up the sun throughout the day. For pet lizards, staying warm or cool is a different matter entirely. People who own lizards as pets need to heat their tanks with heating lamps or pads without overheating the space. In fact, preparing and maintaining a tank for a lizard or any reptile requires a great deal of initial and continuous effort. Each subspecies of reptile has specific needs and preferences. It’s recommended that aspiring and even current reptile owners do research on exactly what their pet needs to be happy and healthy. Doing research before you buy or adopt a pet lizard will help you figure out what kind of lizard would suit you and your budget constraints. This before-you-buy stage is crucial in ensuring that you make the right choice when it comes to being a pet owner.

:https://nationaltoday.com/world-lizard-day/