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On our last day at the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge we took a quick stop at Prairie Dog Town on the west side of the refuge. Its a protected area designed so visitors can enjoy the views of the colony but not get close enough to disturb the prairie dogs..
Rules for Prairie Dog Town
The rules are simple. Don’t mess with them, don’t feed them, don’t step past the fence, and never try to play with them. Let them be. They are more than happy to sit their and pose for the camera. Like the rest of the refuge this area is open from sun up to sun down or whatever the current hours the refuge has it listed.
Our Visit Prairie Dog Town in the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge
We didn’t spend a lot of time out Prairie Dog Town since were heading out of town and still wanted to do another hike before heading home. When we were there, we were the only ones in the parking lot and only a few Prairie Dogs hanging out. I was told there are usually a handful of them out being sociable and posing for the camera. I did get a few good shots.
To learn more about Prairie Dogs, check out this article I found.
Is Prairie Dog Town in the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife good for Children?
Prairie Dog Town is one of the few places in the park that is perfect for the children to see wildlife. Just make sure they don’t go past the fence and break the rules. The fines for breaking the rules aren’t cheap.
I wouldn’t suggest making a long trip just to see the Prairie Dog Town but if you are passing through the area or if you are hiking some of the nature trails in the kids in the refuge its worth a stop.
About the Images
The images were shot in the afternoon . I had some issues getting some of the images to stay in focus because they wouldn’t stay still. I was able to fix some of the issues in post. I used my Sony a6000 and Sony SELP18105G E PZ 18-105mm F4 G OSS or my Sony E 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 OSS Lens. I then edited the images with Adobe Lightroom CC and Topaz Labs Denoise AI and Topaz Labs Sharpen AI and DXO NIK Collection.
About James
I visited WMWR August 14/2023 and the prairie dogs are gone! I saw one single dog at the turn off to the Holy City, but the big town and all the others are no more. I asked at the visitor center and was told that it happened slowly and they don’t know the cause. To me it was quick. I saw them just last year, I’m sure, and maybe even earlier this year.
They were still gone in April of 2023.