Rodents

Brown rat. © Mike Lane/Getty

Brown rat or water vole: How to tell the difference between these two lookalike-rodents

When all you've seen is a flash of brown fur, it can be hard to know whether it was a water vole or rat. Though the two species tend to live in different habitats, there are areas where they overlap, potentially leading to cases of mistaken identity. So how do you tell rats and water voles apart?

Cattle Tyrant Perching on a Capybara

The world's chillest, most laid back rodent? These 8 photos reveal why capybaras are the most easy-going animals alive

From family life to feathered friends, see capybaras at their most companionable

Swimming mouse

The 5 weirdest mice on the planet, from one that howls at the moon to another that can regrow its spinal cord

We take a look at the weirdest mice in the world

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Drawing of a rat with black and white hair

Meet the world's deadliest rat, which contains enough poison to kill an elephant

Predators beware! The world’s deadliest rat carries enough toxin to kill an elephant

The Gunnison's Prairie Dog (Cynomys gunnisoni) is a rodent and member of the squirrel family. They are primarily distributed in the Four Corners region of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. Their coats are light brown mixed with black-colored hairs. The top of the head, cheeks, and eyebrows are darker than the rest of the body. The tail is mostly white. The prairie dog’s eyes are on the sides of the head to give them wide peripheral vision to more easily spot predators. The Gunnison's prairie dog typically feeds during the day on grasses, herbs, and leaves. In the spring, they feed on newly grown shrubs. In the summer they mainly consume seeds. Prairie dog habitat includes meadows, grasslands, high desert and floodplains. They are often found in areas of rabbitbrush, sagebrush, and saltbrush. Gunnison's prairie dogs live in large colonies of up to several hundred. They are more active in the early morning and late afternoon especially during hot weather. When the temperatures are cooler, they become more active throughout the day. When it rains or snows, the prairie dog will spend its time underground. When they are above ground, they feed, make social contact, look out for predators, groom and dig their burrows. During the winter, the Gunnison's prairie dog hibernates for long periods of time without food or water, instead relying on stored fat and physiological adaptations to slow their metabolism. After hibernation, they become active from April through October. The Gunnison's prairie dog has a complex system of vocal communication. Their bark is a combination of high-pitched syllables to identify various predators. They also have different sounds for an "all-clear" signal. There may be up to 11 distinct warning calls used by the prairie dog. This Gunnison’s prairie dog was photographed in a prairie dog colony by Walnut Canyon Lakes in Flagstaff, Arizona, USA.

It barks like a dog, looks like a cross between a squirrel and a hamster and is the size of a bowling pin – meet an adorable, but little-known, American creature

Meet the cute and charismatic prairie dog