Prairie dog

For the newspaper, see Prairie Dog.

Prairie dogs are small, stout-bodied, burrowing rodents with shallow cheek pouches native to the grasslands of North America.

An average prairie dog's size is 12 to 16 inches (30 to 40 cm) long. In the United States, prairie dogs are primarily found west of the Mississippi River, but they have been introduced into a few eastern locales.

Prairie dogs are highly social animals which live in large towns formed by single families of one male and 2 to 4 females. They have up to 4 pups, one time a year, which are born blind and without fur and need about 30 days of close nurturing by their mother. Recent research indicates that prairie dogs have relatively sophisticated vocal communication abilities, including many of the characteristics of language.

Conservation status

Ecologists consider this rodent to be a keystone species, for multiple reasons. They are an important prey species, being the primary diet in prairie species such as the Black-footed Ferret, the Swift Fox, the Golden Eagle, the Badger and the Ferruginous Hawk. Other species, such as the Mountain Plover and the Burrowing Owl also rely on prairie dog burrows for nesting areas. Even grazing species, such as Bison, Pronghorn and Mule Deer have shown a proclivity for grazing on the same land used by prairie dogs. It is believed that they prefer the vegetative conditions after prairie dogs have foraged through the area.

Prairie dog tunnel systems are believed to help channel rainwater into the water table to prevent runoff and erosion, and also can serve to change the composition of the soil in a region by reversing soil compaction that can be a result of cattle grazing. Prairie dogs are also known to control the populations of several weed species, such as mesquite, which has been found to overrun some lands where prairie dogs are no longer found.

Despite their ecological importance, prairie dogs are frequently exterminated from ranchland, being labelled as a pest because they are capable of damaging crops, and often clear the immediate area around their burrows of most vegetation. Their habitat has been fragmented, and their numbers have been greatly reduced. The Utah prairie dog was listed as an endangered species but due to pressure from land owners it was downgraded to a threatened species and their population continues to decline There are only an estimated 4,000 animals left in the wild. Likewise, petitions have been made to protect the Gunnison's prairie dog, but pressures from land owners has slowed the process, despite what is believed to be a 90% decline in their historical population. The largest remaining community is comprised of Black-tailed Prairie Dogs, and though the United States Fish and Wildlife Service determined that they were species that warranted a recovery plan and protection as an endangered species, there are currently no plans to do so.

In captivity

Until 2003, primarily black-tailed prairie dogs were collected from the wild for the exotic pet trade in Canada, the United States, Japan and Europe. They were removed from their underground burrows each spring, as young pups with a large vacuum device. They are difficult to breed in captivity, but it has been done on several occasions. Removing them from the wild was a far more common method of supplying the market demand.

They can be difficult pets to care for, requiring regular attention, and a very specific diet of grasses and hay. Each year they go into a period called rut, that can last for several months, in which their personalities can drastically change, often becoming defensive or even aggressive. Despite their needs prairie dogs are very social animals and come to almost seem like they treat humans as members of their colony, answering barks and chirps, and even coming when called by name.

In mid-2003, due to cross-contamination in a Chicago-area pet store from an unquarantined Gambian pouched rat imported from Africa, several prairie dogs in captivity acquired monkey pox, and subsequently a few humans were also infected. This led the CDC to institute an outright ban on the sale, trade, and transport of prairie dogs within the United States. The disease was never introduced to any wild populations. The European Union also banned importation of prairie dogs in response. While largely seen by exotic pet owners and vendors as unfair, the monkey pox scare was not the only zoonosis incident associated with prairie dogs. Prairie dogs are also very susceptible to bubonic plague, and several wild colonies have been wiped out by it. Also, in 2002, a large group of prairie dogs in captivity in Texas were found to have contracted tularemia. Prairie dogs are not natural carriers of any of the three diseases, but the ban is believed to be in the best interests of protecting the public and there are no intentions of ever lifting it. The prairie dog ban is frequently cited by the CDC as a successful response to the threat of zoonosis.

Prairie dogs that were in captivity at the time of the ban in 2003 are allowed to be kept under a grandfather clause, but they may not be bought, traded, or sold and transport is only permitted to and from a veterinarian under proper quarantine procedures.

Classification and first identification

ORDER RODENTIA
Suborder Sciuromorpha
- FAMILY SCIURIDAE (Squirrels, chipmunks, marmots and prairie dogs)
  - Subfamily Sciurinae
    - Genus Cynomys
      - Gunnison's Prairie Dog, Cynomys gunnisoni
      - White-tailed Prairie Dog, Cynomys leucurus
      - Black-tailed Prairie Dog, Cynomys ludovicianus
      - Mexican Prairie Dog, Cynomys mexicanus
      - Utah Prairie Dog, Cynomys parvidens
    - About 35 other genera in subfamily

The White-tailed Prairie Dog was described by Ludvig/Louis, and was named after the 1805 Lewis and Clark Expedition where prairie dogs were first identified for scientific study.

Prairie dogs as food

See Taboo food and drink.

References

Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World, Vol. 2. Johns Hopkins University Press, London.
Prairie Dogs Are A Keystone Species Of The Great Plains
Desert USA: Prairie Dogs

External links

Pagina in italiano dedicata ai cani della prateria
Xander.it - Prairie dogs videos
Xander.it - Prairie dogs pictures