Prairie Dogs

A prairie dog is a small burrowing rodent, genus Cynomys, of the squirrel family, being closely related to ground squirrels, chipmunks, and marmots, mostly being herbivorous, although the eat some insects. They are named for their habitat and warning call which sounds like a dog barking. They make burrows in the ground called prairie dog towns or colonies. Prairie dogs colors are tan, white or black with an average size is between 30-40 cm (12-16 in) long, including the short tail and weigh between 0.5-1.5 kilograms (1-3 lb). When the pregnant female collects dry grass to make a soft nest for 5-10 babies in each litter. At birth they weigh about half an ounce. Although Prairie Dogs are almost exclusively vegetarian, nursing females have been observed both cannibalizing and communally nursing each others pups.

The largest prairie dog colony on record was in Texas, and was about 100 miles wide, 250 miles long and contained an estimated 400 million animals.

There are five species of prairie dogs in North America (Utah, Gunnison, White- tailed, Mexican, and Black-tailed) live in colonies. However, the black-tailed prairie dogs live in contiguous, territorial family groups called coteries.

Prairie dogs feed on leaves, grasses and grass roots, weeds, seeds and other plants (including crops like alfalfa and corn). They also eat grasshoppers, cutworms, bug and beetles. The various native plants of the Great Plains make up the Prairie Dog's primary diet, comprising all kinds of grasses, roots, weeds, ferns and blossoms. They acquire all of their water from the food they eat. Sometimes insects are also eaten.

Prairie dogs are native to the grasslands of North America and lives in the grassland biome in North American prairie and grassland where there are three distinct areas of prairie - Tallgrass prairie, Mixed-grass prairie and Shortgrass prairie. In the United States, the greatest stretch of grassland is the prairie, extending from the Appalachians in the East to the Rocky Mountains in the West. Being in the center of the North American land mass, far from the moderating influence of major bodies of water, there is a great range of annual temperature.The dominant vegetation in these biotic communities is blue grama, mixed with galleta grass, Indian rice grass, and other grasses.

Black-tailed prairie dogs live in colonies or "towns" that range in size from as small as one acre to several thousand acres. The largest prairie dog colony on record was in Texas, and was about 100 miles wide, 250 miles long and contained an estimated 400 million animals.

Five species of prairie dogs in North America (Utah, Gunnison, White- tailed, Mexican, and Black-tailed) live in colonies. However, the black-tailed prairie dogs live in contiguous, territorial family groups called coteries.

Black-tailed prairie dogs are found east of the Rocky Mountains in the states of Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska. They are also found in the southern part of Canada and the northern part of Mexico. Small colonies of black-tailed prairie dogs are still intermittently distributed throughout most of this range. But presently, there are only seven relatively large black-tailed prairie dog complexes remaining in North America (each more than 10,000 acres). Collectively these seven colonies comprise an estimated 36% of all occupied black-tailed prairie dog habitats in North America. Three of these large colonies live on tribal lands in South Dakota managed by the Cheynne Rive Sioux, the Rosebud Sioux, and the Ogala Sioux Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The other four are on Buffalo Gap National Grasslands in South Dakota and Thunder Basin in Wyoming, both managed by the Forest Service/USDA, Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in Montana and on private land in Mexico.

Prairie dogs are rodents and live in aggregations called towns or colonies. Prairie dog burrows can be as much as 15 feet deep and 60 feet long and sometimes connect with other burrows. The prairie dog lives in the grassland biome in North American prairie and grassland where there are three distinct areas of prairie - Tallgrass prairie, Mixed-grass prairie and Shortgrass prairie. In the United States, the greatest stretch of grassland is the prairie, extending from the Appalachians in the East to the Rocky Mountains in the West. Being in the center of the North American land mass, far from the moderating influence of major bodies of water, there is a great range of annual temperature.The dominant vegetation in these biotic communities is blue grama, mixed with galleta grass, Indian rice grass, and other grasses.

Black-tailed prairie dogs live in colonies or "towns" that range in size from as small as one acre to several thousand acres. The largest prairie dog colony on record was in Texas, and was about 100 miles wide, 250 miles long and contained an estimated 400 million animals.

Black-tailed prairie dogs live in contiguous, territorial family groups called coteries are found east of the Rocky Mountains in the states of Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska. They are also found in the southern part of Canada and the northern part of Mexico. Small colonies of black-tailed prairie dogs are still intermittently distributed throughout most of this range. But presently, there are only seven relatively large black-tailed prairie dog complexes remaining in North America (each more than 10,000 acres). Collectively these seven colonies comprise an estimated 36% of all occupied black-tailed prairie dog habitats in North America. Three of these large colonies live on tribal lands in South Dakota managed by the Cheynne Rive Sioux, the Rosebud Sioux, and the Ogala Sioux Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The other four are on Buffalo Gap National Grasslands in South Dakota and Thunder Basin in Wyoming, both managed by the Forest Service/USDA, Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in Montana and on private land in Mexico.