Heh, they call prairie dogs "plague bunnies".
As with all things California, there are "cute" rodents and "icky" rodents.
The cute ones are protected, while the icky ones are exterminated.
Unfortunately, they're all a variation of rat, and rats do what rats do.
This insanity has spread to my neighborhood, along with a similar influx of California expatriates.
Cute rodents also attract predators, which attract larger predators, which eventually eat the spandex-clad.
It all works out eventually.