10 Interesting Prairie Dog Facts
Prairie Dog Facts tell you about the stout bodied rodent. You can find it living in the burrows. The prairie dog comes from North America. Despite the name, the prairie dog is not a dog. It is actually a rodent. Find out more prairie dog facts below:
Prairie Dog Facts 1: the family
Prairie dog is included in a large family of Sciuridae. Other members in the family include squirrels, marmots and chipmunks. The rodent has the small or medium size. Check squirrel facts here.
Prairie Dog Facts 2: a family group
Do you know that a prairie dog does not live alone? You can find them living in a group. It consists of a male as the leader with 2 till 4 female prairie dogs and cubs.
Prairie Dog Facts 3: habitat
You find prairie dogs in some countries such as Mexico, Canada and United States. There are five major species of prairie dogs. Those are Mexican, Utah, black tailed, Gunnison’s and white tailed prairie dogs.
Prairie Dog Facts 4: observation point
Prairie dog is very smart since this animal will create observation point at the entrance of the burrows. The burrows feature the chambers and warrens of tunnels.
Prairie Dog Facts 5: the features
In average, prairie dogs have the height at 11 to 13 inches. The weight is around 1 to 2 kilogram. They can live around 3 till 5 years.
Prairie Dog Facts 6: the colonies
You can call the colonies of prairie dog as towns.
Prairie Dog Facts 7: herbivore
It is a surprising fact to know that prairie dog actually is herbivore. It means that they eat plants. They like eating ferns, hay, grasses and tree leaves.
Prairie Dog Facts 8: predators
There are some predators which like to hunt prairie dogs. Those include Badger, ferrets, coyotes, Golden Eagle, Hawk, and Fox. Get fox facts here.
Prairie Dog Facts 9: benefits
Prairie dogs give a lot of benefit to the soil. They can fertilize the soil. Therefore, the plants can live well in a fertile soil.
Prairie Dog Facts 10: black tailed prairie dogs
The main food of black prairie dog includes sedges, grasses, forbs, seeds and roots. But you can find them eating insects too. The population of black prairie was very high. The peak population could reach 1 billion. But it is decreased 95 percent due to a wide variety of reasons. Today, the number of black prairie dog is only 10 till 20 million.
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