Social Structure
Gunnison’s prairie dogs live in colonies of up to several hundred individuals. Each colony is subdivided into smaller territories occupied by communal groups or solitary individuals. These communities of prairie dogs vary from two to 19 individuals and may be composed of a single male/single female, single male/multiple females, or multiple males/multiple females. Arrangement of the communities or social groups may be linked with the distribution of food resources. The territories inhabited by the Gunnison’s prairie dog are defended by social groups, and violent behavior is common toward other animals who are not members. These prairie dogs often feed in feebly defended peripheral sections of territories that belong to other groups, but when members from different groups meet in these common feeding areas, conflicts can arise, with one prairie dog chasing the other back to its territory.
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