Conjoined Prairie Dogs Celebrate 2nd Birthday

By +Alexa Rankin

2 years ago today, prairie dogs Nibbles and Scooter were born. This in itself may not seem amazing until you learn that Nibbles and Scooter were born conjoined. Twins connected in the womb at the nose. Think of them as a variation on the Siamese squirrel theme.

Conjoined Prairie Dogs - Nibbles and Scooter

Nibbles and Scooter were at the brink of death when they were discovered at San Diego Zoo, 2 weeks after they were born. They were nursed back to health by the resident rodent specialist, Jerry Souris, who made the decision to not separate the brothers.

"Scooter and Nibbles have already had a traumatic life and were just regaining their strength. To put them through the stress of surgery would be inhumane so I decided that it would be in their best interest to leave them as conjoined twins, joined forever at the septum."

Even though it has been a challenge for them, Nibbles and Scooter live otherwise ordinary lives. They have learned to adapt when it comes to feeding, and tunnel digging. They even enjoy playing 'pat-a-cake' with each other.

With 2 years down and 1 more year to maturity, Nibbles and Scooter will soon be seeking mates, and that is where they may well encounter problems. Even brotherly love may not be enough to enable these twin dogs to join the dating game, and how would any potential mate deal with a pseudo threesome?

On the bright side, they are half way through their anticipated life-span so it's downhill the rest of the way for this cute couple. Feel free to use our comments section to share your birthday wishes for Chip'n'Dale Scooter and Nibbles.