Prairie dog itself more noticeable to the predator. Predators, though, seem to have difficulty determining which prairie dog is making the call due to its "ventriloquistic" nature. Perhaps the most striking of prairie dog communications is the territorial call or "jump-yip" display of the black-tailed prairie dog. A black-tailed prairie dog will stretch the length of its body vertically and throw its forefeet into the air while making a call. A jump-yip from one prairie dog causes others nearby to do the same. Ecologists consider this rodent to be a keystone species. They are an important prey species, being the primary diet
Creature type (Dungeons & Dragons) animals despite their real-world bases being more closely related to vermin type creatures. Creatures deemed inconsequential by DMs or designers are not given any creature type at all, instead being treated as "set dressing" unless a specific game effect targets such non-creatures. Examples include actual-sized spiders, sparrows, fleas, worms, shellfish, and mice. "Swarm" type creatures are occasionally written to represent such otherwise nonthreatening creatures if they were to group together by some force of magic within the game world. Under the rules of D&D, animal type creatures do not have an Intelligence score higher than 2. When a designer makes