Young Black-tailed Prairie Dog at the Hagenbeck Zoo, Hamburg (Germany)

The Black-tailed Prairie Dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) is a rodent of the family Sciuridae (the squirrels) found in the Great Plains of North America from about the United States-Canada border to the United States-Mexico border. Unlike some other prairie dogs, these animals do not truly hibernate. The Black-tailed Prairie Dog can be seen above ground in midwinter. They’re tan to pale brown in colour with a flattened black-tipped tail. Prairie dogs stand on their hind legs when looking for danger. Black-tailed Prairie Dogs are social animals that live in large colonies or "towns" in the wild that may contain thousands of individuals. Towns are made up of multiple "coteries". A coterie consists of a dominant male, 3-4 adult females, their young pups, and yearling juveniles. Prairie dogs feed above ground during the day, but use burrows for safety at night and for rearing families. The lifespan in the wild for Black-tailed Prairie Dogs is up to 8 years for females, and around 5 years for males. However, around half of prairie dogs in the wild do not survive their first year of life due to high rates of predation. Prairie dogs in human care can live over 8 years.

The Hagenbeck Zoo (Tierpark Hagenbeck) is a zoo in Stellingen, Hamburg, Germany. The collection began in 1863 with animals that belonged to Carl Hagenbeck Sr. (1810–1887), a fishmonger who became an amateur animal collector. The park itself was founded by Carl Hagenbeck Jr. (1844–1913) in 1907 and it is still operated and owned by the Hagenbeck family today. It is known for being the first zoo to use open enclosures surrounded by moats, rather than barred cages, to better approximate animals' natural environments. Over the years, the zoo has gained a good reputation for successfully breeding rare and endangered species such as the Asian Elephant and the Siberian Tiger.