Prairie dog 24327 225169096 2008-07-12T07:07:46Z 75.166.246.23 /* Conservation status */ {{Taxobox | name = Prairie dogs | fossil_range = Late [[Pliocene]] to Recent | image = Prairie_Dog_Washington_DC_1.jpg | image_caption = [[Black-tailed Prairie Dog]] | image_width = 225px | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]] | classis = [[Mammal]]ia | ordo = [[Rodent]]ia | subordo = [[Sciuromorpha]] | familia = [[Sciuridae]] | tribus = [[Marmotini]] | genus = '''''Cynomys''''' | genus_authority = [[Constantine Samuel Rafinesque|Rafinesque]], 1817 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = ''[[Gunnison's Prairie Dog|Cynomys gunnisoni]]''<br /> ''[[White-tailed Prairie Dog|Cynomys leucurus]]''<br /> ''[[Black-tailed Prairie Dog|Cynomys ludovicianus]]''<br /> ''[[Mexican Prairie Dog|Cynomys mexicanus]]''<br /> ''[[Utah Prairie Dog|Cynomys parvidens]]'' }} The '''prairie dogs''' ('''''Cynomys''''') are small, burrowing [[rodent]]s native to the [[grassland]]s of North America. They are a type of squirrel. On average, these stout-bodied rodents will grow to be between 12 and 16&nbsp;inches (30 and 40&nbsp;cm) long, including the short tail. They are found in the [[United States]], [[Canada]], and [[Mexico]]. In [[Mexico]], prairie dogs are primarily found in the north states: [[Sonora]], [[Coahuila]], [[Nuevo León]], [[Zacatecas]] and [[San Luis Potosí]]; in the U.S., range primarily found west of the [[Mississippi River]], though they have also been introduced in a few eastern locales. ==Etymology== [[Image:Prairie Dog closeup.jpg|thumb|Prairie Dog closeup.]] Prairie dogs are named for their habitat and warning call, which sounds similar to a dog's bark. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the name is attested from at least 1774.<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=prairie Online Etymology Dictionary,] ''prairie''.</ref> The 1804 journals of the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]] note that in September 1804, they "discovered a Village of an animal the French Call the Prarie Dog" <ref name="sept7">[http://libtextcenter.unl.edu/examples/servlet/transform/tamino/Library/lewisandclarkjournals?&_xmlsrc=http://libtextcenter.unl.edu/lewisandclark/files/xml/1804-09-07.xml&_xslsrc=http://libtextcenter.unl.edu/lewisandclark/LCstyles.xsl Journals of the Lewis and Clark expedition, "7th September Friday 1804. a verry Cold morning"]</ref> Its genus, ''Cynomys'', derives from the [[Greek language|Greek]] for "mouse dog." ==Biology and behavior== [[Image:Kissing Prairie dog.JPG|left|thumb|Kissing Prairie Dogs]] [[Image:Fighting Prairie Dogs.JPG|left|thumb|Fighting Prairie Dogs]] The [[ethology|highly social]] prairie dogs live in large colonies or "towns" – collections of prairie dog families that can span hundreds of acres. Families usually consist of 1 male and 2 to 4 females living in a strict social hierarchy. <ref name="slogobod2002">"[http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~cns3/SlobodchikoffCognition2002.pdf Cognition and communication in prairie dogs,]" ''The Cognitive Animal'', 257-264, MIT Press.</ref> Prairie dog pups reach sexual maturity at about 3&nbsp;years of age, and after their third winter the dominant male in a given family will drive them away, forcing them to establish their own families on the edges of the colony. The dominant male will defend the family's borders against rival prairie dogs, and disputes are resolved with fighting. Prairie dogs are also aggressive against predators such as badgers and snakes. Prairie dogs are social animals, however, and often make social visits with each other, and greet each other with a sort of kiss.<ref>Mondadori, Arnoldo Ed. Great Book of the Animal Kingdom. Arch Cape Press, NY 1988 p271</ref> Prairie dog tunnel systems help channel rainwater into the [[water table]] to prevent [[surface runoff|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. The tunnels usually have several chambers. Tunnels can descend vertically as much as 5&nbsp;meters (16&nbsp;feet), and can extend laterally as much as 30&nbsp;meters (100&nbsp;feet). Prairie dogs line their burrows with grass to insulate them, and the earth excavated from the burrow is piled up in mounds around the burrow's entrance. The prairie dogs use these carefully maintained mounds as observation posts.<ref>Mondadori, Arnoldo Ed. Great Book of the Animal Kingdom. Arch Cape Press, NY 1988 p271</ref> The prairie dog is well adapted to [[predation|predators]]. Using its [[Dichromacy|dichromatic]] color vision, it can detect predators from afar and then alert other prairie dogs to the danger with a special, high-pitched call. Con Slobodchikoff and others assert that prairie dogs use a sophisticated system of vocal communication to describe specific predators.<ref name="slogobod2002" /><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.rednova.com/news/display/?id=108412 | title=Scientist: Prairie Dogs Have Own Language | accessdate=2006-04-18}}</ref> Prairie dogs also trim the vegetation around their colonies, perhaps to remove any cover for predators.<ref>[http://www.ngpc.state.ne.us/wildlife/prairiedogs.asp Nebraska Game and Park Commission: the Prairie Dog].</ref> Their burrows generally contain several routes of escape.<ref name="slogobod2002" /> The prairie dog is chiefly [[herbivore|herbivorous]], though it eats some [[insect]]s. It feeds primarily on grasses and, in the fall, [[broadleaf]] [[forb]]s. Prairie dogs have 1-6 pups yearly, which are born blind and furless and need about 30&nbsp;days of close nurturing from their mother. ==Conservation status== [[Image:Prairie Dog Washington Zoo.JPG|right|thumb|A [[Black-tailed Prairie Dog]] forages above ground for grasses and leaves.]] [[Ecology|Ecologists]] consider this rodent to be a [[keystone species]]. 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.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} It is believed that they prefer the vegetative conditions after prairie dogs have foraged through the area. Many creatures that prey on them are threatened. Prairie dogs also carry the bubonic plague and are talented swimmers! Despite their ecological importance, prairie dogs are frequently exterminated from ranchland, being labeled as a [[pest (organism)|pest]] because they are capable of damaging crops<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/tmot1/cynoludo.htm | title=Mammals of Texas: Black-tailed Prairie Dog | accessdate=2006-04-18}}</ref> and often clear the immediate area around their burrows of most vegetation. This program of extermination probably originated in the 19th century, hundreds of years after the [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]] began using prairie dogs as a food source.<ref name="slobod1991">Slobodchikoff, C. N., Judith Kiriazis, C. Fischer, and E. Creef (1991). "[http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~cns3/SlobodchikoffSemantics1991.pdf Semantic information distinguishing individual predators in the alarm calls of Gunnison's prairie dogs]", ''Animal Behaviour'', 42, 713-719.</ref> [[Image:Prairie dog and hole.JPG|200px|thumb|A prairie dog and his hole.]] Prairie dog [[habitat (ecology)|habitat]] has been impacted by encroachment of human development, and removal by ranchers and farmers. Numbers of all species of prairie dog have been greatly reduced as a result. The largest remaining community comprises [[Black-tailed Prairie Dog]]s. In spite of this, Prairie dog towns have adapted to development, forming in open lots of urban areas near human housing and construction in [[Western United States|western]] cities. One common concern that has led to the widespread extermination of prairie dog colonies is that their digging activities will lead to mechanically damaging livestock through fractured limbs. However, according to advocates, "after years of asking ranchers this question, we have found not one example."<ref>[http://www.emagazine.com/view/?1868 Open Season on “Varmints” For Saving Endangered Prairie Dogs, It’s the Eleventh Hour].</ref> ==In captivity== [[Image:Prarie dogs nest.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Prairie dogs are gaining popularity as zoo animals.]] 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 [[Estrus cycle|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 at a [[Madison, Wisconsin]]-area [[pet swap]] from an [[quarantine|unquarantined]] [[Gambian pouched rat]] imported from [[Ghana]], several prairie dogs in captivity acquired [[monkey pox]], and subsequently a few humans were also infected. This led the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|CDC]] to institute an outright ban on the sale, trade, and transport of prairie dogs within the United States.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/monkeypox/qa.htm | title=CDC: Questions & Answers About Monkey Pox | accessdate=2006-04-18}}</ref> The disease was never introduced to any wild populations. The [[European Union]] also banned importation of prairie dogs in response.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.bornfree.org.uk/zoocheck/zcnews34.htm | title=Born Free: EU bans rodent imports following monkeypox outbreak | accessdate=2006-04-18}}</ref> 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 many wild colonies have been wiped out by it.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/btprairiedog/plague.htm | title=Plague and Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://campusapps.fullerton.edu/news/research/2004/stapp.html | title=Biologist Studies Plague and Prairie Dogs}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/18/science/18ferr.html?_r=1&oref=slogin | title=Endangered, Rescued, Now in Trouble Again}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Hoogland | first=John L. | title=The Black-Tailed Prairie Dog: Social Life of a Burrowing Mammal | year=1995 | publisher=University of Chicago Press| isbn=0-2263-5117-3 | pages=80}}</ref> Also, in 2002 a large group of prairie dogs in captivity in [[Texas]] were found to have contracted [[tularemia]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/oct02/021001g.asp| title=AVMA: Tularemia Outbreak Identified In Pet Prairie Dogs | accessdate=2006-04-18}}</ref> Prairie dogs are natural carriers of plague, and the ban is believed to be in the best interests of protecting the public. 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]].{{Fact|date=February 2008}} 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. ==Popular culture== [[Image:Alerted Prairie Dog Guarding the Entrance to its Hole.jpg|thumb|right|A prairie dog prairie-dogging in the opening of its burrow]] In companies that use large numbers of [[cubicle]]s in a common space, employees sometimes use the term [http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=prairie+dogging&i=49616,00.asp 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 startle response of a group of prairie dogs. A "surprised" prairie dog appeared in the internet video "[[List of Internet phenomena#Videos|Dramatic Chipmunk]]", which became a popular internet phenomenon. The [[College of Santa Fe]] in [[Santa Fe, New Mexico]] uses the Prairie Dog as its athletic mascot. [[Prairiemon]], a digimon that looks like a prairie dog appears in [[Island of Lost Digimon]]. They appear in [[Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull]] film during the scenes in the desert. ==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 Expedition]].<ref name="sept7" /> Lewis described it in more detail in 1806, calling it the "barking squirrel."<ref>[http://libtextcenter.unl.edu/examples/servlet/transform/tamino/Library/lewisandclarkjournals?&_xmlsrc=http://libtextcenter.unl.edu/lewisandclark/files/xml/1806-07-01.xml&_xslsrc=http://libtextcenter.unl.edu/lewisandclark/LCstyles.xsl#n36070116 Journal of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Tuesday July 1st 1806.]</ref> * '''ORDER [[Rodent|RODENTIA]]''' * '''Suborder [[Sciuromorpha]]''' ** '''FAMILY [[Sciuridae|SCIURIDAE]]''' ([[Squirrel]]s, [[chipmunk]]s, [[marmot]]s and prairie dogs) *** '''Subfamily [[Xerinae]]''' **** '''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 14 other genera in subfamily ==Additional Images== <gallery> Image:Prairie.dog.600pix.jpg|[[Black-tailed Prairie Dog]] (''Cynomys ludovicianus'') Image:Prairie_dog.JPG|Common prairie dog Image:Prairie_dog_camouflage.jpg|Prairie dog blends into its surroundings. Image:Prairie Dog.jpg|Prairie Dog </gallery> ==References== {{reflist}} *{{ITIS|ID=180186|taxon=Cynomys ludovicianus|year=2006|date=16 February}} *Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World, Vol. 2. Johns Hopkins University Press, London. *[http://www.gprc.org/Keystone_species.html Prairie Dogs Are A Keystone Species Of The Great Plains] *[http://www.desertusa.com/dec96/du_pdogs.html Desert USA: Prairie Dogs] *[http://www.flickr.com/photos/mfakheri/2531589248/ Prairie dog] ==External links== {{commons|Cynomys ludovicianus}} *[http://www.canedellaprateria.com Prairie dogs videos] *{{it icon}} [http://www.canedellaprateria.it Italian association Prairie dogs] *[http://www.lovelandnet.com/toms-place/writing/pdf/recipes.htm Prairie dog recipes] *Greycliff Prairie Dog Town State Park|[http://fwp.mt.gov/lands/site_283312.aspx][http://travel.mt.gov/categories/moreinfo.asp?IDRRecordID=3094&siteid=1] *[http://www.dramaticprairiedog.com Dramatic Prairie Dog videos] {{S. 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