Black-Tailed Prairie Dog

Cynomys ludovicianus

Average (Polygynous)

The **Black-Tailed Prairie Dog** (*Cynomys ludovicianus*) is a small North American rodent featured in the *Planet Zoo* North America Animal Pack.

## Zoopedia Description

### General

**Population In The Wild:** Unknown

The black-tailed prairie dog is a species of rodent that lives in the prairies, grasslands, semi-deserts, and steppes of the USA as well as small areas of Canada and Mexico. The black-tailed prairie dog has sandy-colored fur with paler coloration on the underside. They have long claws, small ears, black eyes, and a black-tipped tail. Males are slightly larger than females, but otherwise, they are the same in appearance. Black-tailed prairie dogs weigh between 1.4 and 3lb, have a head-body length of 14 to 17.2in, and a tail length of 4 to 4in. The black-tailed prairie dog is not an endangered species and is abundant across their range

### Social

Black-tailed prairie dogs are social animals that live in large "towns" in the wild that may contain thousands of individuals. Towns are made up of multiple "coteries". A coterie consists of a dominant male, 3-4 adult females, their young pups, and yearling juveniles.

### Reproduction

In a harem, there will be one unrelated dominant adult male and several adult females that may be interrelated. The adult females will have 1 fertile day during the 3-month mating season, during which the male will mate with her. The male may mate will all the females in the harem, but only 50% of the females will successfully raise a litter in any given year. When a female is receptive, she may begin gathering nesting materials and vocalize to the male at the entrance of the burrow. Copulation takes place underground.

After a pregnancy of 33 to 38 days, the female will give birth underground to a litter of 3-5 pups on average, although 1-8 pups are possible. Pups do not open their eyes until 30 days after birth. They remain nursing underground for the first 7 weeks of their life. Pups are weaned very soon after they first emerge from the burrow and start eating grasses. Females within the group all help care for the young. The dominant male does not directly care for the young but protects his coterie from invading males that may kill pups.

Females often remain within their natal group their entire life, but males will leave their natal group as they approach sexual maturity, usually at 12-15 months old. Males will attempt to create their own territory and earn their own harem when they leave their natal group. This may happen in two ways. Firstly, as coteries get too big, young females leave their natal group and search for an unattached male. Secondly, a young male may challenge the alpha male of another group. If the male wins, he will inherit the harem. Older males may also leave their coterie as they become related to more and more of the females in the group as their daughters reach sexual maturity, or if they are ousted by a younger, fitter male.

## Animal Care

 FEEDING STATIONS
 FOOD ENRICHMENT
Melon Feeder
Small Bubble Machine · Sprinkler · Tennis Ball · Tunnel · Herb Scent Marker

## Trivia

### Zoopedia Fun Facts

* Prairie dogs are a member of the squirrel family.
* Black-tailed prairie dogs are very sensitive to low sound frequencies; this adaptation allows them to hear when predators move through their burrows.
* Although not an endangered species, the range of the black-tailed prairie dog is now just 5% of what it used to be due to humans changing land use and encroaching upon the prairie dog's habitat.
* Prairie dogs call to their pack mates to communicate details about nearby predators, such as the predators size, distance away and whether they are above or underground.
* Black-tailed prairie dogs are a keystone species as they reconstruct environments with the amount of digging they do; this enhances the diversity of wildlife and vegetation and is a very important ecosystem role.