Oklahoma
38 Prairie Dogs In Yukon Moved To Natural Habitat In Northwestern Oklahoma
The ultimate fate of a prairie dog colony in Yukon is now known.
These wild animals have been a hot topic for years as new developments kept forcing them to migrate to the Northwest near Route 66. Last week, many people noticed cages at the location off of Sara Road, wondering what was happening.
According to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, some of them were relocated to a new home. “All right guys now don’t take off,” said Kathy Barrett, who feeds the prairie dogs every day. “Come on, we’re not going to bother you.”
Barrett says she loves animals but has developed a soft spot for an urban colony of black-tailed prairie dogs in Yukon.
“They are my babies, but everybody has a responsibility to wildlife,” said Barrett.
Last week, the ODWC says it worked with a research team from the University of Louisiana to capture 38 prairie dogs using baited traps.
“While the prairie dogs were under anesthesia, they drew blood samples and they took a small tissue sample for their data to look at genetics and disease resistance,” said Kurt Kuklinski, Wildlife Diversity and Research Supervisor for the ODWC.
Kuklinski said his team then took the animals in carriers to a former colony site in northwestern Oklahoma.
“It’s not good for the prairies to be missing such an awesome creature on the landscape,” said Kuklinski.
He says by putting them back in their natural habitat, the hope is they will thrive.
“Where they are right now in that urban environment, they’re not able to expand their colony beyond that single lot and they face threats from traffic and can’t move and do well as a colony there,” he said. “Where we’ve re-located them, they’ve got hundreds to thousands of acres to expand.”
As for the rest of them in Yukon, several hundred prairie dogs remain and will still pop up for visitors like Reina Flores.
“You see how they stand? And there’s some over,” Flores pointed out. “They look like they’re dogs, they stand up, they’re very cute,”
And as Barrett says, very resilient.
“They’re survivors, that’s for sure,” she said. “I want it to continue, I want people to have the joy of seeing wildlife and just getting back to nature.”
The Department of Wildlife says none of the prairie dogs were harmed during the move. They say it could take years to move the rest of them out of Yukon.
Photos courtesy of ODWC.
Catch up on Oklahoma’s top headlines of the week for Dec. 12, 2025
Here are Oklahoma’s top headlines of the week for Dec. 12, 2025
A Pawnee native who died in a Japanese prison during World War II is headed back to Oklahoma after officials identified his body 82 years later.
James M. Walker was an infantry corporal stationed on the Philippine Islands when Japan invaded in December 1941. U.S. forces battled the Japanese in intense fighting for months, but ultimately surrendered to the invaders in April 1942.
After being taken prisoner, Walker and thousands of other prisoners of war were forced to travel 65 miles to a prison camp on the notorious Bataan Death March. More than 2,500 POWs are reported to have died at the camp.
Prison camp records showed he died on Jan. 1, 1943 at the age of 46, but he was buried in a common grave with other deceased prisoners. After the war, the American Graves Registration Service exhumed the bodies, collected samples for identification analysis and reburied the remains in a memorial cemetery in Manila.
To identify Walker’s remains, scientists used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. The Armed Forces Medical Examiner System also used mitochondrial DNA analysis and mitochondrial genome sequencing data.
Although interred as an “unknown” for decades, Walker’s grave was meticulously cared for by the American Battle Monuments Commission. His name is listed on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate his remains have been identified.
Upon his return to the United States, Walker will be buried in Maramec, Oklahoma in January 2026.
OKLAHOMA CITY, (KOKH) — Oklahoma City police responded to a fatal shooting in the 2600 block of N. Kelly Friday evening.
According to OKCPD, the shooting occurred at around 6:20 p.m.
When officers arrived, they located one adult male with gunshot wounds at the scene. The victim was transported to a nearby hospital where he later died during surgery.
Police believe the shooting was a result of a verbal argument that escalated into a fistfight and then a shooting.
The suspect has been taken into custody and transported to police headquarters for questioning.
This is a developing story; please check back for updates.
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Oklahoma State Cowboys (9-0) vs. Oklahoma Sooners (6-3)
Oklahoma City; Saturday, 1 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Oklahoma takes on Oklahoma State at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The Sooners are 6-3 in non-conference play. Oklahoma is 1-0 in games decided by less than 4 points.
The Cowboys are 9-0 in non-conference play. Oklahoma State ranks eighth in the Big 12 with 16.9 assists per game led by Jaylen Curry averaging 5.1.
Oklahoma averages 84.7 points, 8.3 more per game than the 76.4 Oklahoma State gives up. Oklahoma State scores 16.3 more points per game (91.3) than Oklahoma gives up to opponents (75.0).
TOP PERFORMERS: Nijel Pack is scoring 17.2 points per game with 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists for the Sooners. Tae Davis is averaging 13.3 points and 6.8 rebounds while shooting 53.3%.
Vyctorius Miller is averaging 15.9 points for the Cowboys. Parsa Fallah is averaging 14.6 points.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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