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Prairie Dog
genus Cynomys
44.1298, -103.194
Field Notes
Description:
Burrowing rodents native to the grasslands of North America. The five different species of prairie dogs are: black-tailed, white-tailed, Gunnison's, Utah and Mexican prairie dogs. They are a type of ground squirrel, found in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In Mexico, prairie dogs are primarily found in the northern states which are the southern end of the great plains: northeastern Sonora, north and northeastern Chihuahua, northern Coahuila, northern Nuevo León, and northern Tamaulipas. In the U.S., they range primarily to the west of the Mississippi River, though they have also been introduced in a few eastern locales. They are herbivorous. ~ Wikipedia
Habitat:
Prairie dogs mainly live in altitudes ranging from 2,000-10,000 ft above sea level.[7] The areas in which they live can get as warm as 100°F in the summer and as cold as -35°F in the winter.[7] As prairie dogs live in areas prone to environmental threats, including hailstorms, blizzards, and floods, as well as drought and prairie fires, burrows provide important protection for them. Prairie dog burrows can serve to control temperature as they are 5-10°C during the winter and 15-25°C in the summer. Prairie dog tunnel systems help channel rainwater into the water table to prevent runoff and erosion, and can also serve to change the composition of the soil in a region by reversing soil compaction that can be a result of cattle grazing. ~ Wikipedia
Notes:
Highly social, prairie dogs live in large colonies or "towns" – collections of prairie dog families that can span hundreds of acres. The prairie dog family groups are the most basic units of its society.[8] Members of a family group inhabit the same territory.[5] Family groups of black-tailed and Mexican prairie dogs are called "coteries", while "clans" are used to describe family groups of white-tailed, Gunnison’s and Utah prairie dogs.[5] Although these two family groups are similar, coteries tend to be more closely knit than clans.[9] Members of a family group interact through oral contact or "kissing" and grooming one another.[7][8] They do not perform these behaviors with prairie dogs from other family groups.[8] ~ Wikipedia
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