At a colony of Gunnison's prairie dogs, Sciuridae:Cynomys gunnisoni, containing marked individuals of known genetic relationships, anti-predator calling was investigated in response to moving, stuffed specimens of a natural predator, the American badger,Taxidea taxus. Females with kin in the home territory called more often than females without nearby kin, and females with nearby offspring were especially likely to call. Male gunnisons commonly gave anti-predator calls as well, but male calling was unrelated to kinship of nearby listeners. 1996 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour Published in Animal Behaviour, volume 51, issue 4, on pages 871 - 880, in 1996.
