### animal | vertebrate | mammal:

Prairie dog
* Most prairie dogs belong to families
  - eat grass
* Most prairie dogs have front legs
* Most prairie dogs have muscular front legs
  - live in areas
* Most prairie dogs survive in climates
  - dryer climates
  - use front teeth
* Most prairie dogs use sharp front teeth
* Some prairie dogs compete with livestock
  - eat crops
  - have children
* Some prairie dogs live in colonies
  - large colonies
* Some prairie dogs survive in habitats
  - natural habitats.
  * are found in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. They will eat all sorts of vegetables and fruits
* are active by day and live in colonies
  - during the day
  - only during daylight hours and spend a lot of time feeding and socializing
* are active only during the day
  - daytime
  - actually ground squirrels
* are also aggressive against predators such as badgers and snakes
  - terrible thieves, with a special fondness for socks
  - chiefly herbivorous , though they eat some insects
  - colonial animals that live in complex networks of tunnels with multiple openings
  - communal and create large burrow systems that all members of the colony can use
  - diurnal animals and eat grasses and forbs
  - diurnal, which means they are awake during the day and sleep at night
  - essential to black-footed ferrets
  - extremely healthy and hardy
* are found in many national parks in the American West
  - the United States , Canada , and Mexico
* are highly susceptible to disease, specifically sylvatic plague and yerinia pestis
  - the infection and entire colonies can be destroyed
  - large ground squirrels which live together in highly organized societies
  - medium-sized tan squirrels with very short tails
  - most active during the cool hours of daylight
  - named for their habitat and warning call, which sounds similar to a dog's bark
  - native to short-grass prairie habitats of western North America
  - natural fertilizers of the ground
  - one example of the many kinds of wildlife that are at Wind Cave
  - remarkably sociable animals
  - rodents
  - small, short-tailed animals with eyes and small ears set far back on their heads
  - social animals with a sophisticated social network
  - strictly diurnal animals
* are susceptible to plague, and entire dog towns can be eliminated quickly
  - several diseases
  - tan colored, have large eyes and short, black-tipped tails
  - territorial
  - the engineers that create a unique ecosystem used by dozens of prairie species
* are their main prey
  - natural prey
  - traditionally shorter than groundhogs and have short, buff-colored coarse hair
  - vegetarians by circumstance only, being omnivorous in captivity
* are very social and can make excellent pets
  - animals and burrow long underground tunnels
  - vocal animals
* avoid extreme inbreeding.
* bear four or five young per litter.
* build mounds and underground tunnels to keep flood water out.
* burrows act as aquifers that prevent water from eroding land while helping to cool it
  - homes for many species as well
* can damage rangeland and occasionally carry plague
  - escape danger quickly by hiding in burrows
  - increase by one-third of their population per year
  - only live a very short life
  - spread the plague and other diseases
* clip tall-growing vegetation within their towns to enhance predator detection.
* communicate with different barks and warn each other of an advancing owl or a coyote.
* compete with livestock for forage.
* consume it as a major food wherever they encounter it.
* create unique patches of habitat ideal for mountain plovers.
* depend on each other and their burrows to survive.
* dig underground burrows to hide from enemies.
* do well in a dry, cool environment with adequate ventilation.
* eat grass, leaves and roots surrounding their town
  - grasses, roots, seeds and leafy plants
  - seeds, flowers, and sometimes grasshoppers
  - voraciously
* employ a complex form of communication that involves barks and rhythmic chirps.
* enhance habitat for desert cottontails.
* evoke a variety of responses in people.
* feed mainly on grass, and occasionally on eggs.
* form extensive and elaborate burrows within which they live.
* give alarm calls when they detect a potentially dangerous stimulus.
* have a bulky body, big eyes, a short tail, and short limbs
  - complex social structure
  - sophisticated form of communication
  - housing crunches, too
  - large eyes, short tails and a brownish-tan pelage
  - many adaptations like sharp claws to help it dig there burrows
  - only one litter of five pups a year
  - reddish fur, large eyes, short ears and broad round heads
* increase fitness by killing interspecific competitors.
* lead active lives, spending most of their time aboveground foraging.
* live in Central and North America
* live in colonies commonly referred to as prairie dog towns
  - that can stretch for miles
  - coteries, which consist of several towns
* live in large colonies that are also called towns or villages
  - groups
  - short-grass prairies and mountain plains of the western USA and Mexico
  - social groups called towns
* live in underground burrows
  - communities
  - naturally only in the mixed or shortgrass prairie
* make endearing and unforgettable pets.
* moisten the dirt.
* occur on a variety of prairie and high desert vegetative communities.
* prefer areas.
* raise their heads from their burrows in response to disturbances.
* spend almost all day above ground feeding and on the alert.
* stalk grind squirrels
* talk with sounds and body language.
* thrive on attention and affection and give back so much more than they take.
* use different calls to identify specific predators
+ Prairie dog, Biology and behavior: Squirrels
  * The dominant male will defend the family's borders against rival prairie dogs, and disputes are resolved by fighting. Prairie dogs are also aggressive against predators such as badgers and snakes.
  * Prairie dogs are social animals, and often make social visits with each other, and greet each other with a sort of kiss. Mondadori, Arnoldo Ed. Great book of the animal kingdom. Prairie dogs employ a complex form of communication that involves barks and rhythmic chirps. 2 Feb. 2010.
  * The prairie dog is well adapted to predators. They can detect predators from a far distance and alert other prairie dogs to the danger with a special, high-pitched call. Prairie dogs use different calls to identify specific predators. Their burrows generally contain several routes of escape.