On a beautiful Boulder day, I saw prairie dogs enjoying the spring-like January weather just as much as my friend and I were as we walked the path.

We could hear them vocalizing loudly from every direction. Their high-pitched calls were a clear indication of their desire to communicate. I did a bit of research and it turns out prairie dogs possess the most sophisticated of all natural animal languages. They have different sounds to identify different types of predators, and they have many.

Their only defense from predators is camouflage, their warning call, and the ability to disappear into their burrow.