Black-tailed prairie dog +

Did you know?

In the largest prairie dog colony ever found there were thought to be over 400 million individuals living in an area almost the same size as Bavaria. Such mega-colonies are subdivided into smaller social groups that live together in a burrow with several chambers. This can be extremely complex with up to 70 burrow entrances.
It is only when rearing young that mothers defend their tunnels against other group members.
Status according to red list: Least Concern

Classification:

Order: rodents; family: squirrels; There are 5 species of prairie dogs in total.

Diet:

Herbivores: grasses, roots, fruits and vegetables

Habitat:

Grassland habitats up to elevations of 2,000 m from the Southwest of Canada to the North of Mexico.

Reproduction:

Gestation period: 34 days; 1–8 offspring ; maximum age: 11 years