page_title: Black-tailed prairie dog
section_title: Diet
hierarchical_section_title: Black-tailed prairie dog / Diet
caption_attribution_description: English: Taken in the Zoo, Budapest Magyar: Társas prérikutya a Budapesti Állatkertben
context_page_description: The black-tailed prairie dog is a rodent of the family Sciuridae found in the Great Plains of North America from about the United States-Canada border to the United States-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 25,000 sq mi and included 400,000,000 individuals. Prior to habitat destruction, this species may have been 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.
context_section_description: 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 about 7 lb (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.
caption: Cynomys ludovicianus gathering grass
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