Scanning their world

Yes, these two little things live in captivity with quite a few others, at the Calgary Zoo. They look rather like Richardson's Ground Squirrels that are wild in Alberta, but these are in fact Black-tailed Prairie Dogs.

'They are found in the Great Plains of North America from about the USA-Canada border to the USA-Mexico border. Black-tailed prairie dogs are frequently exterminated from ranchland, being labelled as a pest. Their habitat has been fragmented, and their numbers have been greatly reduced. Additionally, black-tailed prairie dogs are remarkably susceptible to plague." From Wikipedia. Their Conservation Status is Least Concern.

"Canada’s remaining population of black-tailed prairie dogs can only be found in southwest Saskatchewan around Grasslands National Park." (Calgary Zoo info).