Diet
Black-tailed prairie dogs are selective opportunists, preferring certain phenological stages or types of vegetation according to their needs. When forage is stressed by grazing, drought, or herbicides, they change their diets quickly. Grasses are preferred over forbs, and may comprise more than 75% of their diets, especially during summer. Western wheatgrass, buffalo grass, blue grama and sedges (Carex spp.) are preferred during spring and summer. Scarlet globemallow (Sphaeralcea coccinea) and Russian thistle (Salsola kali) are preferred during late summer and fall, but are sought out during every season. During winter, plains prickly pear (Opuntia polyacantha), Russian thistle, and underground roots are preferred. Shrubs such as rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus spp.), winterfat (Krascheninnikovia lanata), saltbush (Atriplex spp.), and sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) are also commonly eaten. Water, which is generally not available on the short-grass prairie, is obtained from vegetation such as plains prickly pear. Koford estimated one black-tailed prairie dog eats approximately 7 lbs (3 kg) of herbage per month during summer. Cutworms, grasshoppers, and old or fresh American bison scat are occasionally eaten. For a detailed list of foods eaten by black-tailed prairie dogs by month, and ratings of those foods' forage value to cattle and sheep, see. For a complete list of vegetation preferred by the black-tailed prairie dog, see.
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
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