Fires burn the spines off the plants, providing a source of preferred forage.
Prickly-pear in the genus Opuntia have been utilized as a forage substitute for grazing livestock in Texas and Mexico for at least a century. It is highly variable in nutrient content, depending on species or variety, age, and plant part. Singed plains prickly-pear was evaluated as a cattle forage in Colorado. Plains prickly-pear increased total dry matter consumption and weight gain in cattle. In Texas, northern bobwhite quail rely on plains prickly-pear for cover while traveling and escape from predators.