The Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Oklahoma is one of my favorite stops when we have a break during storm chasing. To have a break on the second day of chasing didn’t bode all that well, but who cares? Prairie dogs always cheer me up.
So I was really sad to hear that my favorite prairie dog colony had vanished. (See the adorable 2022 video here.) A woman at the information desk at the visitor center told me that they could have up and moved overnight, especially if they didn’t feel safe (not surprising given the yahoos we saw throwing food at them and making lots of noise when we visited two years ago), or they could have been felled by disease. I prefer to imagine them packing their tiny suitcases and making a run for it. We did see prairie dogs elsewhere in the park, but they were farther away and more skittish. Alas.
We found some prairie dogs, but not where they were before. That colony has vanished.
Still, this is a beautiful place and well worth a visit. We didn’t even go to the top of Mount Scott this time, just a favorite overlook and other easily accessible areas, and we had a fun close encounter with a mini herd of bison who trekked right by my car. And the wildflowers were fabulous.
Here are a few photos from our visit May 7. Roll over any one to see a caption, or click on one to start a slide show.
