Wild Places, Inc.Wild Places, Inc. is dedicated to the humane removal and relocation of prairie dogs. They are based out of Boulder and relocate thousands of prairie dogs each year. They were in the process of removing a coterie of prairie dogs when they found two adult males in a pitiful state. They had bloody faces, one missing an ear and both missing a substantial amount of fur on their bodies. Fearing that the prairie dogs had mange or some other medical problem, they requested assistance from UWR. We were happy to help such a wonderful organization. Upon examining the prairie dogs, we had no doubt as to what the problem was. They were removing prairie dogs at the height of the mating season. These two males had obviously been in some serious battles over females. Male prairie dogs can actually kill each other during confrontations over the right to mate. To be on the safe side, we took them to Deer Creek Animal Hospital and Dr. Ray Cox, one of the owners of the clinic, examined them. He found no evidence of disease and agreed that they had probably been involved in some intense, life threatening battles. We would like to thank Deer Creek Animal Hospital for their continuous support of the wild animals over the years. The veterinarians and staff there are compassionate individuals, with a deep love of the wildlife. We brought the prairie dogs back to the facility and tranquilized them. We cleaned up the torn ears and eyes, and other gashes and scrapes along the face and body of the animals. We administered antibiotics to prevent a possible infection from developing. We held them for ten days. They healed beautifully and were returned to Wild Places. |