Social Groupings

Social groupings and hierarchies are an important part of life for many species. Animals within a social group are often interacting in some way, whether feeding, playing, grooming, courting, rearing young or marking territory.  

Examples of social enrichment include:

• Housing animals with appropriate members of their species
• Creating mixed species exhibits
• Adding visual barriers to the exhibit to allow animals to retreat from each other and the public

Prairie dogs have a complex social system composed of one male and several females and their offspring. The highly-social prairie dogs live in large colonies of families that can span hundreds of acres. They dig well-constructed burrows with side chambers for storage, nesting, and escape from predators or flooding.