Black-tailed Prairie Dog – GOTCHA!GOTCHA!
I had been trying for more than a week to photographically record the essence of young Black-tailed Prairie Dog play behavior in Oklahoma’s Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge. Chasing one another seemed a particularly favorite endeavor and their capers might best be described as fast and furious. It was frustratingly difficult to capture the action once an escapade began.
During one such episode, the ‘chasee’ suddenly evaporated from sight by ducking down a burrow. Its playmate, the ‘chaser’, cautiously approached the mound. Suddenly the pup ‘down under’ popped from the hole while its surprised companion exploded into the air. The electrified moment just screamed GOTCHA! Off they went then tumbling and rolling with each other, and sprinting across the colony continuing their fast-track game.
Even though I wouldn’t see the results for weeks [it was the era of film], I felt good about the session.
As I walked away from the scene that day, I paused briefly, turned back to my subjects and said, “Gotcha!”
~ Anecdote and Black-tailed Prairie Dog capture, GOTCHA! © Jerry L. Ferrara. First generation image created on Kodachrome 64 film in spring of 1995.
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North Idaho wildlife photographer Jerry L. Ferrara shoots exclusively for Ferrara Wildlife Photography.