White-tailed prairie dog facts for kids
Quick facts for kids White-tailed prairie dog |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Cynomys
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| Species: |
leucurus
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| White-tailed Prairie Dog range | |
The white-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys leucurus) is a type of prairie dog that lives in parts of western Wyoming and western Colorado. You can also find smaller groups in eastern Utah and southern Montana. The biggest groups live in Wyoming, where people sometimes call them "chiselers."
These prairie dogs live in high places, usually between 5,000 and 10,000 feet (1,500 and 3,000 m) above sea level. This is often higher than where other prairie dog species live. Animals that hunt white-tailed prairie dogs include black-footed ferrets, badgers, and golden eagles.
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What Does a White-Tailed Prairie Dog Look Like?
The white-tailed prairie dog has tan-brown fur. They have big eyes and a dark patch on their cheeks, both above and below each eye.
These prairie dogs usually weigh between 28–53 oz (790–1,500 g). They are about 12–16 in (30–41 cm) long.
How Do White-Tailed Prairie Dogs Behave?
White-tailed prairie dogs are active during the day. They are busiest in the morning and afternoon. In winter, they go into their burrows to hibernate. They come out when the weather gets warmer. Male prairie dogs usually appear in late February or early March. Females come out about two to three weeks later.
Interactions with Other Animals
White-tailed prairie dogs sometimes compete with Wyoming ground squirrels. If a squirrel enters a prairie dog's area, the prairie dog will chase it. It's rare for the prairie dog to catch and kill the squirrel. If they do, they leave the squirrel for birds that eat meat, because prairie dogs only eat plants.
Female prairie dogs who killed squirrels sometimes had more babies. However, the more squirrels they killed, the less likely they were to survive future fights.
What Do White-Tailed Prairie Dogs Eat?
White-tailed prairie dogs are herbivores, which means they only eat plants. Their main foods are grass, forbs (flowering plants that are not grass), and sedges. They especially like to eat forbs.
White-Tailed Prairie Dog Lifestyle
White-tailed prairie dogs have a complex social life. They live together in groups called colonies. They use different sounds, like barks, and body movements to talk to each other.
On average, each colony has about six different "clans" or families. These families look for food and other resources together. Female prairie dogs and their young pups tend to stay close to their burrows. The male prairie dogs usually go out to find food for the group.
Why Are White-Tailed Prairie Dogs Important to Protect?
The number of white-tailed prairie dogs has gone down a lot. They now live in only about 8% of the area they used to call home. People sometimes control their numbers by shooting or poisoning them. They are also threatened by a disease called Sylvatic Plague, which can infect all prairie dogs.
These animals live in small communities. This makes them very vulnerable to these problems, as a whole group can be wiped out easily.
Conservation Status
The white-tailed prairie dog is listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Its current status is "least concern," which means they are not currently in danger of extinction. This was last checked in 2016.
Some groups have asked for the white-tailed prairie dog to be protected by law. However, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service has said no. They stated there wasn't enough scientific information about how the populations were changing. This decision is being looked at again. This is because a former official was found to have unfairly influenced the scientific reasons for the denial. Groups like the Biodiversity Conservation Alliance are working to legally protect this species.
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White-tailed Prairie Dog range
