SF Zoo celebrates spring with the birth of nine prairie dog pups

The pups, who were born to various mothers, spend their first four to six weeks in their burrows. The zoo estimates that these tikes are now approximately five weeks old.

They are already exploring their new digs, playing with one another, and like their adult counterparts, foraging for food, such as vegetables and plant browse, in their habitat. 

According to the zoo, black-tailed prairie dogs are found in the "open plains and plateaus of the Great Plains, from Montana and southern Saskatchewan to extreme northern Mexico." 

Luckily guests won't have to travel that far to see these animals up-close and personal. They can get a good look at the prairie dogs and their pups through their exhibit's large viewing windows.