Prairie dogs live on the plains in burrows and they range all over eastern Colorado. Around the burrow opening they mound up dirt so not so much rain gets in. Inside the burrow they have different sections: they have a sleeping section, a raising babies section, and a food section. In the food section they store food for the winter. They eat grass, plants and roots for food.

A prairie dog is considered a rodent because of its two front teeth. All rodents have two front teeth that are always growing so they gnaw to keep them from growing too long. Prairie dogs enemies are hawks, prairie falcons, bobcats, coyotes, golden eagles, black-footed ferrets, badgers, snakes and humans. Indians caught prairie dogs with nets and traps, but when prairie dogs were at their peak they covered over 100 million acres of land. Prairie dogs have a black tipped tail, a brownish body, a white stomach and are about 15 to19 inches long.

I got my information from PRAIRIE DOGS by Caroline Arnold and PRAIRIE DWELLERS by Daniel Alibert-Kouragaine.

Illustration by Dan, age 9

Do you see a light brown figure with some black on it moving on the prairie? Is it barking? Is it small? Does it live in a hole? If it has all of these things, then it is a black-tailed prairie dog. Its scientific name is Cynomys Indovicianus. It lives in eastern Colorado on short to mixed grass prairies. It is 12 to 16 inches long, weighs 1 to 3 pounds, and has a black-tipped tail. Prairie dogs live in towns just like we do, only they live in tunnels 10 feet below the ground. Prairie dogs live in families. They recognize each other by touching noses. Each prairie dog family uses one piece of land to feed on. A prairie dog's enemies are men, coyotes, and birds of prey. The fleas on prairie dogs can carry diseases, so if you see one stay away!

I got my information from the books PRAIRIE DWELLERS by Daniel A. Kourguine and COLORADO WILDLIFE by Jeff Rennicke.