Prairie dogs immediately escape from $500k escape-proof habitat

By Mark Frauenfelder at 10:14 am Monday, Jun 15

The Maryland Zoo spent $500,000 to make an escape-proof prairie dog habitat, called Prairie Dog Town. The prairie dogs escaped within 10 minutes of being introduced to their new habitat. Zookeepers caught the escaped prairie dogs with nets.

Aircraft wire, poured concrete and slick plastic walls proved no match for the fast-footed rodents, the stars of a new exhibit that opens today.

As officials were promoting the return of the zoo's 28 prairie dogs - their former digs had been out of sight in a closed section of the animal preserve for more than four years - some of the critters found ways to jump, climb and get over the walls of their prairie paradise, a centerpiece exhibit just inside the zoo's main entrance.

(Public domain photo of Black-tailed Prairie Dog taken by Adrian Pingstone)

Prairie dogs immediately escape from $500k escape-proof habitat