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Black-tailed Prairie Dog
Photograph by
Joel Sartore
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Not just puffed up for show, the black-tailed prairie dog is the largest of the five prairie dog species found in North America. Prairie dogs live as a group in “towns” or “colonies” on up to 1,000 acres (405 hectares). The largest town on record was a 100-mile-wide (161-kilometer-wide) spread in Texas.
Click here for a black-tailed prairie dog multimedia show, courtesy National Wildlife Federation.
RealPlayer Windows Media
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Scientific name:
Cynomys ludovicianus
Family:
Sciuridae
Group/Class:
Mammal
Historic range:
Mexico, United States (throughout the Great Plains into Arizona), Canada
Current status:
candidate taxon, ready for proposal
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Population to which status applies:
entire range
Current range:
Throughout the Great Plains of the United States.
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