The black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus), is a rodent of the family Sciuridae found in the Great Plains of North America from about the USA-Canada border to the USA-Mexico border. Unlike some other prairie dogs, these animals do not truly hibernate. The black-tailed prairie dog can be seen above ground in midwinter. A black-tailed prairie dog town in Texas was reported to cover 64,000 km2 (25,000 sq mi) and included 400,000,000 individuals. Prior to habitat destruction, this species was probably the most abundant prairie dog in central North America. This species was one of two described by the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the journals and diaries of their expedition.
Read more about Black-tailed Prairie Dog: Description, Distribution, Habits, Habitat, Diet, Social Organization, Reproduction and Development, Mortality, Ecological Role and Threats, Conservation Status, Interactions With Domestic Livestock, Pet Trade
Famous quotes containing the words prairie dog, prairie and/or dog:
“To the cry of “follow Mormons and prairie dogs and find good land,” Civil War veterans flocked into Nebraska, joining a vast stampede of unemployed workers, tenant farmers, and European immigrants.”
—For the State of Nebraska, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“The flower-fed buffaloes of the spring
In the days of long ago,
Ranged where the locomotives sing
And the prairie flowers lie low:—”
—Vachel Lindsay (1879–1931)
“The little dog lay curled and did not rise
But slept the deeper as the ashes rose
And found the people incomplete,”
—Richard Wilbur (b. 1921)