Badlands Prairie Dog

Badlands National Park
Black-tailed prairie dog

Cynomys ludovicianus

The name does not evoke a desire to go and see such a place, however, the unique geologic formations of this 244,000 acre park actually attracts visitors from all over the United States and even from around the world. The stark, erosional features of muted earth hues are cast against the blue South Dakota sky and in the spring to summer, rich, green prairie lands that support a variety of wildlife including the icon of the American prairie, the buffalo. The geologic deposits contain some of the world’s richest fossil beds that include ancient horses and rhinos.

What about the name? Taken from the park website: “For hundreds of years, the Lakota people have called this area mako sica, which literally translates to “bad lands.” When early French fur trappers passed through this area, they called the area les mauvaises terres a traveser (‘bad lands to travel across’).” That name stuck. These canyons and valleys posed a serious difficulty to prairie travelers, but today, a park road services the many extraordinary viewpoints.

One of the more abundant inhabitants of the park today is the prairie dog. A more primitive campground on the western end of the park plays host to a colony of these ground dwellers, sharing space with campers. On an early May, 2021 visit to the park and an evening and morning spent at this campground, we found ample opportunity to capture photos of what some regard as a cute and cuddly little creature, but prairie ranchers and farmers tend to regard as a scourge, because of what a colony of these could do to their fields.  You be the judge.