"Prairie-dogs are abundant...; they are in shape like little woodchucks, and are the most noisy and inquisitive animals imaginable. They are never found singly, but always in towns of several hundred inhabitants; and these towns are found in all kinds of places where the country is flat and treeless." Theodore Roosevelt
NPS / Tristin
Black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) once ranged the Great Plains from southern Saskatchewan to northern Mexico. Originally named "petits chiens," or "little dogs," by early French explorers, these highly social animals are not really dogs, but rodents. They are members of the Sciuridae or squirrel family, closely related to ground squirrels, chipmunks, woodchucks and marmots. There are five species of prairie dogs in North America, but only the black-tailed prairie dog inhabits Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
Named for their bark-like calls and black-tipped tail, black-tailed prairie dogs are large rodents with eyes and small ears set far back on their heads. Their light-brown fur blends well with the dirt of their mounds, except when the animal has been blackened by burrowing into coal seams. Prairie dogs average 14 to 17 inches in length and weigh 1 to 3 pounds. With short, muscular legs and long-nailed toes on their front and hind feet, they are well equipped for their burrowing lifestyle.
A prairie dog colony or "town" consists of many closely spaced burrows, each comprising an elaborate network of tunnels and multiple entrance holes that provide escape routes from pursuing predators. The primary prairie dog social unit is the "coterie," which typically consists of one adult male, several adult females, and their offspring under two years old. Members of a coterie are a closely knit group, recognizing each other by an identifying kiss or sniff. Their cohesiveness is maintained by the cooperative activities of raising young, constructing burrows, grooming, playing, and defending the coterie territory. The dominant male is typically the most active in the defense of the coterie, patrolling its invisible borders and challenging all comers.
Prairie dogs warn of territorial trespassers from adjacent coteries or approaching danger by emitting a series of "barks," which sound more like high-pitched squeaks. Specific threats are associated with distinctive vocalization patterns that serve to alert all residents of a town to the common threat.
Prairie dogs feed primarily on plants, selecting forbs and grasses high in moisture content and nutritive value to supply their needs for water and energy. They not only clip vegetation for feeding, but also to maintain a more open landscape to promote communication and better spot approaching danger. With reduced competition from grass species, forbs begin to increase in abundance. Pronghorn, bison, and other herbivores are attracted to graze in prairie dog towns since nutritious forbs and other plants grow there that typically are outcompeted by grass. Persistent grazing in the area also stimulates fresh growth of plants, which has a higher nutritional value than older plants, which increases the nutritional content of the plant community found in prairie dog towns. Varying its diet so as not to feed on one species of plant exclusively, the prairie dog practices its own brand of “crop rotation”. Forage pressure on preferred plants is kept at tolerable levels and the community thrives.
Prairie dogs build up large stores of body fat to carry them through the fall and winter months. Unlike most other members of their family, black-tailed prairie dogs do not hibernate. They may remain underground for several days during periods of harsh weather, but milder winter conditions allow for the animals to emerge from their burrows to forage.
Mating occurs from March to early April. After a month-long gestation period, the female bears a litter of one to six young. Born blind and hairless, the pups stay in the burrow for about six weeks while they develop fully. Emerging from the burrow, young prairie dogs are initially protected by their mothers. Weaning occurs shortly thereafter, when the pups have begun to forage for themselves. The pups are nearly full grown by the fall and live an average of three to five years.
Prairie dogs are an important food source for many predators, including: badgers, coyotes, foxes, bobcats, snakes, and various raptors. Prairie dogs rely on their excellent hearing, vision, and communication to avoid these predators. From their vantage point atop the burrow mound, they can listen and scan the sky and prairie for danger. When danger is spotted, a prairie dog announces the threat to the rest of the town by barking and flicking its tail. If danger gets too close, the prairie dog dives into its burrow. After the threat has passed, the prairie dogs emerge to give an "all clear" signal.
The number of prairie dogs a given area can support at any time is based on the relations between several interacting environmental factors, including forage availability, predation and disease. If one of these factors fail to keep the numbers of prairie dogs in check, a population "boom" will occur. The environmental balance is inevitably restored by a subsequent population "bust," animals dying in large numbers from disease or starvation brought about by overcrowding and exhaustion of the town's food resources.
Like the bison, the prairie dog was once a major component of Great Plains ecosystem. Vast prairie dog towns stretched for miles across the open plains. In 1901, scientists surveyed a single prairie dog town that covered an area of 25,000 square miles and contained an estimated 400,000,000 prairie dogs. But this town and others were already under threat. Most ranchers were convinced that prairie dogs were destroying rangelands and competing with cattle for food, which prompted extensive poisoning programs. These measures virtually eradicated the prairie dog and many of its predators, chief among them the black-footed ferret.
Formerly one of the prairie dog's most dangerous enemies, black-footed ferret numbers have only recently been raised through captive breeding programs to a level where small populations are now being released back into the wild (including Badlands National Park in South Dakota). Today, scattered populations of prairie dogs are found mainly in protected areas such as state and national parks, monuments, grasslands, and wildlife refuges.
Warning: Please do not feed prairie dogs. Human food is hard for prairie dogs to digest and often contains additives that can make them sick. Remember, too, that prairie dogs are wild animals and can inflict a painful bite. They may also be host to fleas that can transmit bubonic plague to humans.
"Around the prairie-dog towns it is
always well to keep a look-out for
the smaller carnivora, especially
coyotes and badgers...and for
the larger kinds of hawks. Rattlesnakes
are quite plenty, living in the deserted
holes, and the latter are also the
homes of the little burrowing owls."
-Theodore Roosevelt
