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Prairie Dog Tails: Part 1

© B. J. Barton

Prairie dogs are not dogs at all; they are rodents and not even related to dogs. The name comes from their alarm and all-clear calls that sound like a shrill bark. They belong to the genus Cynomys, taken from two Greek words that mean "dog mouse."

Three of the five species of prairie dogs in North America are found in Colorado. They are Black-tailed prairie dogs (C. ludovicianus), White-tailed prairie dogs (C. leucurus), and Gunnison's prairie dogs (C. gunisoni). Prairie dogs have short legs, big feet, and well-developed claws for digging burrows. They have short, rounded ears, and big, dark eyes. While these three species generally inhabit different areas, there is some overlap. The best way to tell them apart is - what else? - their tails. There are some other differences in the way they live, too, so I'll tell you about them one at a time.

White-tailed Prairie Dogs

White-tails live on high sage brush plains (6,000-12,000 feet elevation) in northwest Colorado, western Wyoming and northeast Utah. In Colorado, they are common in the drainage of the Laramie River, the northern Colorado River drainage, and in North Park. They are cute little rascals, and I like to spend some time watching them when I go to the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge in North Park.

White-tails are buff in color, with dark patches above and below the eyes and white-tipped tails. They dig rather simple burrows with one nest chamber that they line with grass. The mounds of dirt at their burrow holes may be up to three feet high, or may be completely eroded away. White-tails do not live in huge colonies and only a few burrows may be interlinked with others.

Generally, between late October and late March white-tails hibernate. They store roots and seeds to eat when they occasionally wake up during this period. Also, to help them survive the long, cold winter, they eat a lot in the Fall, sometimes doubling their summer weight of about 1.5 pounds. I've seen some pretty chubby looking prairie dogs in September. Grasses and forbs are their preferred menu.

When the weather warms up in spring, these little rodents become more active. They mate in about March and pups are born 30 days later, with an average of five pups per litter. These little ones don't show up outside the burrow to eat and play until May or June. Prairie dogs use a number of calls, the most obvious being the alarm "yip" that sends everyone diving for their holes. The average life span for this species is four to five years.