As a native of the western US, I’m afraid that it is both prairie dogs and chipmunks that can naturally carry Yrsenia Pestis. The density of a prairie dog town means that proximity alone (like walking through a field that is a prairie dog town) can lead one to get bitten by a flea/other insect friend that is also a disease vector even though the little prairie dogs themselves inevitably scatter when you approach - this is a vanishingly rare phenomenon (maybe a dozen cases a year?) that usually resolves with a course of antibiotics (I’m unaware of fatalities due to plague in my home state). I think that chipmunks are a lower risk overall because they don’t congregate the same way - but as this video shows, they also aren’t as skittish around people as prairie dogs. I’d personally recommend appreciating both species at a distance!😅
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u/the_vault-technician 11h ago
It's prairie dogs isn't it