Black-Tailed Prairie Dog
Prairie dogs have been vilified by ranchers in the western US, and staunch efforts were made to eradicate entire populations. As a result, they are not as common as they once were; but, many prairie dog colonies have persisted in protected areas. Amazingly, the largest prairie dog town ever discovered covered 64,000 km2 and included 400 million individuals!
I spotted this Black-Tailed Prairie Dog in a zoo.
Although they are often viewed as a pest species (potential agricultural concerns and possibly serving as a reservoir for bubonic plague), prairie dogs have an important role in the ecosystem. One obviously crucial role is the fact that they provide a vital link in food webs since they are primary consumers. For example, Black-footed Ferrets, which are highly endangered mammals, rely on prairie dog colonies for food and shelter. This reliance is intimately tied to the near extinction of Black-footed Ferrets in the wild because of the large scale eradication of prairie dogs.
The black-tailed prairie dog is a rodent of the family Sciuridae found in the Great Plains of North America from about the United States-Canada border to the United States-Mexico border. Unlike some other prairie dogs, these animals do not truly hibernate. The black-tailed prairie dog can be seen above ground in midwinter.
