![]() ![]() The prairie dog is known by several indigenous names. Its genus, Cynomys, derives from the Greek for "dog mouse" (κυων kuōn, κυνος kunos – dog μυς mus, μυός muos – mouse). 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 Prairie Dog". The name was in use at least as early as 1774. Prairie dogs are named for their habitat and warning call, which sounds similar to a dog's bark. Prairie dogs raise their heads from their burrows in response to disturbances. The prairie dog is protected in many areas to maintain local populations and ensure natural ecosystems. The removal of prairie dogs "causes undesirable spread of brush", the costs of which to livestock range and soil quality often outweighs the benefits of removal. The prairie dog habitat has been affected by direct removal by farmers, and the more obvious encroachment of urban development, which has greatly reduced their populations. Prairie dogs have some of the most complex systems of communication and social structures in the animal kingdom. Other species, such as the golden-mantled ground squirrel, mountain plover, and the burrowing owl, also rely on prairie dog burrows for nesting areas. These grazing species have shown a proclivity for grazing on the same land used by prairie dogs.Īdditionally, prairie dogs are extremely important in the food chain, and are the prey of choice for many animals, such as the black-footed ferret, swift fox, golden eagle, red tailed hawk, American badger, and coyote. In turn, the prairie dogs’ actions directly benefited the health and vitality of these larger animals’ primary food source: grasses. ![]() Historically, when the American Plains were teeming with great herds of millions of hoofed mammals-mainly bison, elk, pronghorn, and deer-the prairie dogs’ burrowing helped to offset the trampling damage (and subsequent compaction) of the ground beneath the animals’ feet. Their mound-building encourages soil aeration, grass development and renewal of topsoil, with rich mineral and nutrient renewal in the ground, which can be crucial for natural soil quality as well as agriculture. Prairie dogs are considered a keystone species, a species whose presence and success within a natural area can reveal information pertaining to that environment’s ecological productivity, failure or damage their empty mounds and tunnels often are used as shelter by other species (especially in adverse weather conditions), including reptiles, amphibians, ground-dwelling birds and numerous mammals. They are also found in the Canadian Prairies, primarily in south-central Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, and along the U.S.-Canadian border regions. In the United States, they range primarily to the west of the Mississippi River, though they have also been introduced in a few eastern locales. In Mexico, prairie dogs are found primarily in the dry, cool-winter northern states, which lie at the southern end of the Great Plains (along the United States-México border), from northeastern Sonora, north and northeastern Chihuahua, northern Coahuila, northern Nuevo León, and northern Tamaulipas. Within the genus are five species, the most well-known being the black-tailed prairie dog, in addition to the white-tailed, Gunnison's, Utah, and Mexican prairie dogs. Despite their common name, they are not actually canines prairie dogs, along with marmots and chipmunks (and several other basal genera), belong to the ground squirrels tribe Marmotini, which is part of the larger squirrel family, Sciuridae. Prairie dogs (genus Cynomys) are a highly social type of herbivorous, burrowing ground squirrel native to the grasslands, badlands and prairies of North America. ![]()
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