Prairie dogs are burrowing
rodentRodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
s native to the
grasslandGrasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
s of North America. There are five different species of prairie dogs:
black-tailedThe black-tailed prairie dog , is a rodent of the family Sciuridae found in the Great Plains of North America from about the USA-Canada border to the USA-Mexico border. Unlike some other prairie dogs, these animals do not truly hibernate. The black-tailed prairie dog can be seen aboveground in...
,
white-tailedThe white-tailed prairie dog is found in western Wyoming and western Colorado with small areas in eastern Utah and southern Montana. The largest populations are in Wyoming where they are known colloquially as "chiselers". This prairie dog species lives between 5,000 and 10,000 feet, generally a...
,
Gunnison'sGunnison's prairie dog is one of five species of the prairie dog. This species belongs to the squirrel family of rodents, and are predominantly related to the North American and Eurasian ground squirrels...
,
UtahThe Utah prairie dog is the smallest species of prairie dog, a member of the squirrel family of rodents native to the south central steppes of the US state of Utah....
and
Mexican prairie dogThe Mexican prairie dog is a diurnal burrowing rodent native to Mexico. Treatment as an agricultural pest has led to its status as an endangered species. They are closely related to squirrels, chipmunks, and marmots.-Habitat and diet:...
s. They are a type of
ground squirrelThe ground squirrels are members of the squirrel family of rodents which generally live on or in the ground, rather than trees. The term is most often used for the medium-sized ground squirrels, as the larger ones are more commonly known as marmots or prairie dogs, while the smaller and less...
, found in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
,
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. In Mexico, prairie dogs are primarily found in the northern states which are the southern end of the great plains: northeastern
SonoraSonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....
, north and northeastern Chihuahua, northern
CoahuilaCoahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico...
, northern
Nuevo LeónNuevo León It is located in Northeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east, San Luis Potosí to the south, and Coahuila to the west. To the north, Nuevo León has a 15 kilometer stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S...
, and northern
TamaulipasTamaulipas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 43 municipalities and its capital city is Ciudad Victoria. The capital city was named after Guadalupe Victoria, the...
. In the U.S., they range primarily to the west of the
Mississippi RiverThe Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
, though they have also been introduced in a few eastern locales. They are
herbivorousHerbivores are organisms that are anatomically and physiologically adapted to eat plant-based foods. Herbivory is a form of consumption in which an organism principally eats autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria. More generally, organisms that feed on autotrophs in...
, and will eat all sorts of vegetables and fruits.
Etymology
Prairie dogs are named for their habitat and warning call, which sounds similar to a dog's bark. The name was in use at least as early as 1774. The 1804 journals of the
Lewis and Clark ExpeditionThe Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...
note that in September 1804, they "discovered a Village of an animal the French Call the Prairie Dog." Its genus, Cynomys, derives from the
GreekGreek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
for dog mouse.
In companies that use large numbers of
cubicleТhe cubicle, cubicle desk, office cubicle or cubicle workstation is a partially enclosed workspace, separated from neighboring workspaces by partitions that are usually tall...
s in a common space, employees sometimes use the term prairie dogging to refer to the action of several people simultaneously looking over the walls of their cubicles in response to a noise or other distraction. This action is thought to resemble the startled response of a group of prairie dogs.
Classification and first identification
The Black-tailed Prairie Dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) was first described by Lewis and Clark in 1804 during the
Lewis and Clark ExpeditionThe Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...
. Lewis described it in more detail in 1806, calling it the "barking squirrel."
- ORDER RODENTIA
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
- Suborder Sciuromorpha
The term Sciuromorpha has referred to numerous groups of rodents, but the only family common to all variations is the Sciuridae, the squirrels. Most definitions also include the Mountain Beaver....
- FAMILY SCIURIDAE (Squirrel
Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia...
s, chipmunkChipmunks are small striped squirrels native to North America and Asia. They are usually classed either as a single genus with three subgenera, or as three genera.-Etymology and taxonomy:...
s, marmotThe marmots are a genus, Marmota, of squirrels. There are 14 species in this genus.Marmots are generally large ground squirrels. Those most often referred to as marmots tend to live in mountainous areas such as the Alps, northern Apennines, Eurasian steppes, Carpathians, Tatras, and Pyrenees in...
s, and prairie dogs)
- Subfamily Xerinae
Xerinae is a subfamily of squirrels, many of which are highly terrestrial. It includes the tribes Marmotini , Xerini , and Protoxerini .-References:* Thorington, R. W. and R. S. Hoffmann. 2005. Family Sciuridae. Pp 754-818 in Wilson, E. D...
- Genus Cynomys
- Gunnison's Prairie Dog
Gunnison's prairie dog is one of five species of the prairie dog. This species belongs to the squirrel family of rodents, and are predominantly related to the North American and Eurasian ground squirrels...
, Cynomys gunnisonium nocterna
- White-tailed Prairie Dog
The white-tailed prairie dog is found in western Wyoming and western Colorado with small areas in eastern Utah and southern Montana. The largest populations are in Wyoming where they are known colloquially as "chiselers". This prairie dog species lives between 5,000 and 10,000 feet, generally a...
, Cynomys leudacurus
- Black-tailed Prairie Dog
The black-tailed prairie dog , is a rodent of the family Sciuridae found in the Great Plains of North America from about the USA-Canada border to the USA-Mexico border. Unlike some other prairie dogs, these animals do not truly hibernate. The black-tailed prairie dog can be seen aboveground in...
, Cynomys ludovicianus
- Mexican Prairie Dog
The Mexican prairie dog is a diurnal burrowing rodent native to Mexico. Treatment as an agricultural pest has led to its status as an endangered species. They are closely related to squirrels, chipmunks, and marmots.-Habitat and diet:...
, Cynomys mexican
- Utah Prairie Dog
The Utah prairie dog is the smallest species of prairie dog, a member of the squirrel family of rodents native to the south central steppes of the US state of Utah....
, Cynomys pardos
- About 14 other genera in subfamily
Physical description
On average, these stout-bodied rodents will grow to be between 30 – long, including the short tail and weigh between 0.5 –. There is
sexual dimorphismSexual dimorphism is a phenotypic difference between males and females of the same species. Examples of such differences include differences in morphology, ornamentation, and behavior.-Examples:-Ornamentation / coloration:...
in body mass in the prairie dog which varies between a 105-136% difference between the sexes. Among the species, black-tailed prairie dogs tend to be the least sexually dimorphic and white-tailed prairie dogs tend to be the most sexually dimorphic. Sexual dimorphism peaks during weaning when the females lose weight and the males start eating more and is at its lowest when the females are pregnant which is also when the males are tired from breeding.
Diet
Prairie dogs are chiefly
herbivorousHerbivores are organisms that are anatomically and physiologically adapted to eat plant-based foods. Herbivory is a form of consumption in which an organism principally eats autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria. More generally, organisms that feed on autotrophs in...
, though they eat some
insectInsects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s. They feed primarily on grasses and, in the fall,
broadleafThe flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
forbA forb is a herbaceous flowering plant that is not a graminoid . The term is used in biology and in vegetation ecology, especially in relation to grasslands and understory.-Etymology:...
s. In the winter, lactating and pregnant females supplement their diet with snow for extra water. They also will eat roots, seeds, fruit and buds. Grasses of various species are eaten. Black-tailed prairie dogs in South Dakota eat western bluegrass,
blue gramaBlue Grama, Bouteloua gracilis, is a long-lived, warm season, C4 perennial grass native to North America. It is most commonly found from Alberta east to Manitoba and south across the Rocky Mountains, Great Plains, and Midwest states to Mexico...
,
buffalo grassBouteloua dactyloides, commonly known as Buffalograss or Buffalo Grass, is a prairie grass native to North America. It is a shortgrass found mainly on the high plains and is co-dominant with blue grama over most of the shortgrass prairie.-Description:Buffalograss is a warm-season perennial...
,
six weeks fescueVulpia octoflora Vulpia octoflora Vulpia octoflora (Pullout grass, Sixweeks fescue, Sixweeks grass, Eight-flower sixweeks grass, Eight-flowered fescue; syn. Festuca octoflora Walter var...
, and tumblegrass, while Gunnison’s prairie dogs eat rabbit basin,
tumbleweedsTumbleweeds was a popular long-run comic strip which offered a skewed perspective on life in the Old West. Writer-artist Tom K. Ryan was very familiar with conventions of the Western genre he satirized...
, dandelions, saltbush and
cacti-See also:* RRDtool The underlying software upon which Cacti is built* MRTG The original Multi Router Traffic Grapher from which RRDtool was "extracted".* Munin -External links:******...
in addition to buffalo grass and blue grama.
Habitat and burrowing
Prairie dogs mainly live in altitudes ranging from 2,000-10,000ft above sea level. The areas in which they live can get as warm as 100 degrees in the summer and as cold as -35 degrees in the winter. As prairie dogs live in areas that are 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 degrees Celsius during the winter and 15-25 degrees Celsius in the summer. Prairie dog tunnel systems help channel rainwater into the
water tableThe water table is the level at which the submarine pressure is far from atmospheric pressure. It may be conveniently visualized as the 'surface' of the subsurface materials that are saturated with groundwater in a given vicinity. However, saturated conditions may extend above the water table as...
to prevent
runoffSurface runoff is the water flow that occurs when soil is infiltrated to full capacity and excess water from rain, meltwater, or other sources flows over the land. This is a major component of the water cycle. Runoff that occurs on surfaces before reaching a channel is also called a nonpoint source...
and
erosionErosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
, 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.
Prairie dog burrows are 5-10m (16-33ft) long and 2-3m (6-10ft) below the ground. The entrance holes are generally 10-30cm (4-12in) in diameter. Prairie dog burrows can have 1-6 entrances. Sometimes the entrances are simply flat holes in the ground while other times they are surrounded by mounds of dirt that are either left as piles or packed down hard. Some mounds, known as dome craters, can be as high as 0.2-0.3 meters (8-12in) high. Other mounds, known as rim craters, can be as high as 1m. Dome craters and rim craters serve as observation posts which the animals use to watch out for predators. They also function to protect the burrows from flooding. It is also possible that the holes also provide ventilation as the air enters through the dome crater and leaves through the rim crater causing a breeze though the burrow. Prairie dog burrows contain chambers that provide certain functions. They have chamber for their young called nursery chambers; chamber for night-time and chambers for the winter. They also contain air chambers that may function to protect the burrow from flooding and a listening post for predators. When hiding from predators, prairie dogs use less deep chambers that are usually a meter below the surface. Nursery chambers tend to be deeper, being 60-76cm (2-2½ft) below the surface.
Social organization and spacing
Highly socialEthology is the scientific study of animal behavior, and a sub-topic of zoology....
, 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. Members of a family group inhabit the same territory. 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. Although these two family groups are similar, coteries tend to be more closely knit than clans. Members of a family group interact through oral contact or "kissing" and groom one another. They do not perform these behaviors with prairie dogs from other family groups.
A prairie dog town may contain 15-26 family groups. There may also be sub-groups within a town called "wards" which are separated by a physical barrier. Family groups exist within these wards. Most prairie dog family groups are made up of one adult breeding male, two to three adult females and one to two male offspring and one to two female offspring. Females remain in their natal groups for life and are thus the source of stability in the groups. Males leave their natal groups when they mature to find another family group to defend and breed in. Some family groups contain more breeding females than one male can control as thus have more than one breeding adult male in them. Among these multiple male groups, some may contain males that have friendly relationships but the majority contain males that have largely antagonistic relationships. In the former, the males tend to be related while in the latter they tend to not to be related. There may be two to three groups of females controlled by one male. However among these female groups there are no friendly relations.
The average prairie dog territory takes up 0.05-1.01 hectares. Territories have well established borders that coincide with physical barriers like rocks and trees. The resident male of a territory defends it and agonistic behavior will occur between two males of different families defend their territories. These interactions may happen 20 times per day and last 5 minutes. When two prairie dogs encounter each other at the edges of their territories that will start staring, make bluff charges, flare their tails, chatter their teeth, and sniff each others perianal scent glands. When fighting, prairie dogs will bite, kick and ram each other. If their competitor is around their size or less, the females will participate in fighting. Otherwise, if a competitor is sighted, the females signal for the resident male.
Reproduction and parenting
Prairie dog copulation occurs in the burrows. This reduces the risk of it being interrupted by a competing male. They are also at less risk of predation. Behaviors that signal that a female is in estrous include underground consorting, self- licking of genitals, dust bathing and late entrances into the burrow at night. The licking of genitals may protect against sexually transmitted diseases and genital infections while dust bathing may protect against fleas and other parasites. Prairie dogs also have a mating call which consists of a set of 2-25 barks with a 3-15 second pause between each one. Female may try to increase their reproduction success by mating with males outside their family groups. When copulation is over the male is no longer interested in the female sexually but will prevent other males from mating with her. Males may prevent females from mating with other males by inserting copulatory plugs.
For black-tailed prairie dogs, the resident male of the family group fathers all the offspring. Multiple paternity in litters seems to be more common in Utah and Gunnison’s prairie dogs. Mother prairie dogs do most of the care for the young. In addition to nursing the young, the mother also defends the nursery chamber and collects grass for the nest. Males play their part by defending the territories and maintaining the burrows. The young spend their first six weeks below the ground being nursed. They are then weaned and begin to surface from the burrow. By five months they are fully grown. The subject of cooperate breeding in prairie dogs has been debated among biologists. Some argue that prairie dogs will defend and feed young that are not theirs and it seems young will sleep in nursery chamber with other mothers and since most nursing occurs at night, this may be a case of communal nursing. In the case of the latter, others suggest that communal nursing only occurs when mothers mistake someone else’s young for their own.
InfanticideIn animals, infanticide involves the killing of young offspring by a mature animal of its own species, and is studied in zoology, specifically in the field of ethology. Ovicide is the analogous destruction of eggs. Although human infanticide has been widely studied, the practice has been observed...
is known to occur in prairie dogs. Males who take over a family group will kill the offspring of the previous male. This causes the mother to go into estrous sooner. However, most infanticide is done by close relatives. Lactating females will kill the offspring of a related female both to decrease competition for the female’s offspring and for increased foraging area due to a decrease in territorial defense by the victimized mother. Supporters of the theory that prairie dog are communal breeders state that another reason for this type of infanticide is so the female can get a possible helper. With their own offspring gone, the victimized mother may help raise the young of other females.
Anti-predator calls
The prairie dog is well adapted to
predatorsIn ecology, predation describes a biological interaction where a predator feeds on its prey . Predators may or may not kill their prey prior to feeding on them, but the act of predation always results in the death of its prey and the eventual absorption of the prey's tissue through consumption...
. Using its dichromatic color vision, it can detect predators from a far distance and then alert other prairie dogs to the danger with a special, high-pitched call.
Constantine SlobodchikoffConstantine 'Con' Slobodchikoff is an animal behaviorist and conservation biologist. He is a professor at Northern Arizona University where he studies referential communication, using prairie dogs as a model species. Much of his recent research has shown a complex communicative ability of the...
and others assert that prairie dogs use a sophisticated system of vocal communication to describe specific predators. According to them, prairie dog calls contain specific information as to what the predator is, how big it is and how fast it is approaching. These have been described as a form of grammar. According to Slobodchikoff, these calls, with their individuality in response to a specific predator imply that prairie dogs have highly developed cognitive abilities. He also writes that prairie dogs have calls for things that are not predators to them. This is cited as evidence that the animals have a very descriptive language and have calls for any potential threat.
There is debate over whether the alarm calling of prairie dogs is selfish or altruistic. It is possible that prairie dogs alarm others to the presence of a predator so they can protect themselves. However it is also possible that the calls are meant to cause confusion and panic in the groups and cause the others to be more conspicuous to the predator than the caller. Studies of black-tailed prairie dogs suggest that alarm calling is a form of kin selection as a prairie dog’s call alerts both offspring as well as non-descended kin like cousins, nephews and nieces. Prairie dogs with kin close by called more often than those that didn’t have kin nearby. In addition, the caller may be trying to make itself more noticeable to the predator. However, it seems that a predator has difficulty determining which prairie dog is making the call due to its "
ventriloquialVentriloquism, or ventriloquy, is an act of stagecraft in which a person manipulates his or her voice so that it appears that the voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered "dummy"...
" nature. Also, it seems when a prairie dog makes a call, the others do not run into the burrows but stand on the mounds to see where the predator is, making themselves visible to the predator.
Perhap the most pretentious of prairie dog communication is the territoral call or "jump-yip" display. A prairie dog will stretch the length of its body vertically and throw it's forefeet into the air while making a call. A jump-yip from one prarie dog causes others nearby to do the same.
Conservation status
EcologistsEcology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
consider this rodent to be a
keystone speciesA keystone species is a species that has a disproportionately large effect on its environment relative to its abundance. Such species play a critical role in maintaining the structure of an ecological community, affecting many other organisms in an ecosystem and helping to determine the types and...
. They are an important prey species, being the primary diet in prairie species such as the
Black-footed FerretThe Black-footed Ferret , also known as the American polecat or Prairie Dog Hunter, is a species of Mustelid native to central North America. It is listed as endangered by the IUCN, because of its very small and restricted populations...
,
Swift FoxThe swift fox is a small light orange-tan fox around the size of a domestic cat found in the western grasslands of North America, such as Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. It also lives in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta in Canada, where it was previously extirpated...
,
Golden EagleThe Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...
,
American BadgerThe American badger is a North American badger, somewhat similar in appearance to the European badger. It is found in the western and central United States, northern Mexico and central Canada, as well as in certain areas of southwestern British Columbia.Their habitat is typified by open...
, and
Ferruginous HawkThe Ferruginous Hawk , Buteo regalis , is a large bird of prey. It is not a true hawk like sparrowhawks or goshawks, but rather belongs to the broad-winged buteo hawks, known as "buzzards" in Europe...
. Other species, such as the
Mountain PloverThe Mountain Plover is a medium-sized ground bird in the plover family . It is misnamed, as it lives on level land...
and the
Burrowing OwlThe Burrowing Owl is a tiny but long-legged owl found throughout open landscapes of North and South America. Burrowing Owls can be found in grasslands, rangelands, agricultural areas, deserts, or any other open dry area with low vegetation. They nest and roost in burrows, such as those excavated...
, also rely on prairie dog burrows for nesting areas. Even grazing species such as
Plains BisonThe Plains Bison or Common bison is one of two subspecies/ecotypes of the American Bison, the other being the Wood Bison . Furthermore, it has been suggested that the Plains Bison consists of a northern and a southern subspecies, bringing the total to three...
,
PronghornThe pronghorn is a species of artiodactyl mammal endemic to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is often known colloquially in North America as the prong buck, pronghorn antelope, or simply antelope, as it closely resembles the true antelopes of the Old World and...
, and
Mule deerThe mule deer is a deer indigenous to western North America. The Mule Deer gets its name from its large mule-like ears. There are believed to be several subspecies, including the black-tailed deer...
have shown a proclivity for grazing on the same land used by prairie dogs.
Nevertheless, prairie dogs are often identified as pests and exterminated from agricultural properties because they are capable of damaging crops, as they clear the immediate area around their burrows of most vegetation.
As a result, prairie dog
habitat* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
has been impacted by direct removal by ranchers and farmers as well as the more obvious encroachment of urban development which has greatly reduced their populations. The removal of prairie dogs "causes undesirable spread of brush" the costs of which to livestock range may outweigh the benefits of removal. The largest remaining community comprises
Black-tailed Prairie DogThe black-tailed prairie dog , is a rodent of the family Sciuridae found in the Great Plains of North America from about the USA-Canada border to the USA-Mexico border. Unlike some other prairie dogs, these animals do not truly hibernate. The black-tailed prairie dog can be seen aboveground in...
s. In spite of human encroachment, prairie dogs have adapted, continuing to dig burrows in open areas of
western.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
cities.
One common concern which led to the widespread extermination of prairie dog colonies was that their digging activities could injure horses by fracturing their limbs. However, according to writer Fred Durso, Jr. of E Magazine, "after years of asking ranchers this question, we have found not one example." Another concern is their susceptibility to
bubonic plaguePlague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...
.
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 can be difficult to breed in captivity, but breed well in zoos. 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
rutThe estrous cycle comprises the recurring physiologic changes that are induced by reproductive hormones in most mammalian placental females. Estrous cycles start after puberty in sexually mature females and are interrupted by anestrous phases or pregnancies...
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 at a
Madison, WisconsinMadison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
-area pet swap from an
unquarantinedQuarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....
Gambian pouched ratThe Gambian pouched rat , also known as the African giant pouched rat, is a nocturnal pouched rat of the giant pouched rat genus Cricetomys. It is among the largest muroids in the world, growing up to about long including their tail which makes up half their length...
imported from
GhanaGhana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, several prairie dogs in captivity acquired
monkeypoxMonkeypox also known as cockpox is an exotic infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus. The disease was first identified in laboratory monkeys, hence its name, but in its natural state it seems to infect rodents more often than primates...
, and subsequently a few humans were also infected. This led the
CDCThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services headquartered in Druid Hills, unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, in Greater Atlanta...
and
FDAThe Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...
to issue a joint order banning the sale, trade, and transport within the United States of prairie dogs (with a few exceptions). The disease was never introduced to any wild populations. The
European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
also banned importation of prairie dogs in response. While largely seen by exotic pet owners and vendors as unfair, the monkeypox scare was not the only
zoonosisA zoonosis or zoonoseis any infectious disease that can be transmitted from non-human animals to humans or from humans to non-human animals . In a study of 1415 pathogens known to affect humans, 61% were zoonotic...
incident associated with prairie dogs.
Prairie dogs are also very susceptible to
bubonic plaguePlague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...
, and many wild colonies have been wiped out by it. Also, in 2002 a large group of prairie dogs in captivity in
TexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
were found to have contracted
tularemiaTularemia is a serious infectious disease caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis. A Gram-negative, nonmotile coccobacillus, the bacterium has several subspecies with varying degrees of virulence. The most important of those is F...
. The prairie dog ban is frequently cited by the CDC as a successful response to the threat of
zoonosisA zoonosis or zoonoseis any infectious disease that can be transmitted from non-human animals to humans or from humans to non-human animals . In a study of 1415 pathogens known to affect humans, 61% were zoonotic...
.
Prairie dogs that were in captivity at the time of the ban in 2003 were allowed to be kept under a
grandfather clauseGrandfather clause is a legal term used to describe a situation in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations, while a new rule will apply to all future situations. It is often used as a verb: to grandfather means to grant such an exemption...
, but were not to be bought, traded, or sold and transport was only permitted to and from a
veterinarianA veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....
under quarantined procedures.
On September 8, 2008, the FDA and CDC rescinded the ban making it once again legal to capture, sell, and transport prairie dogs effective immediately. Although the federal ban has been lifted, several States still have their own ban on prairie dogs in place.
If in captivity, prairie dogs can live 8 years or more.
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