The name "prairie dog" is derived from both their habitat and their habits. They live in the short grass prairie, and early European explorers likened them to small dogs because of their shrill, bark-like vocalizations. Although significantly reduced, these colonies still create unique patches of habitat in extensive grass- lands. The black-tailed prairie dog is one of five different species of wild prairie dogs, but it is the one most often seen in the exotic pet trade. The Prairie Dog Coalition is an alliance of nonprofit organizations, scientists, and concerned citizens dedicated to the protection of imperiled prairie dogs and the restoration of their habitats. Prairie Dog Habitat Prairie dogs live in North America and parts of Canada and Mexico. Immense colonies of prairie dogs were present on the Great Plains before settlement. They inhabit a fairly limited range of open, arid, level, short-grass prairies. The bare patches of ground created by their grazing and burrowing … Paragraph. Add to this persecution a loss of range from human encroachment, habitat pollution, the rise of infectious disease, and the pressing threat of climate change, and prairie dog peril is as much an issue of the present as it is the past and future. Gunnison’s prairie dog habitat occurs in four states—Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah (Hoogland 2006a; USFWS 2008). On October 15, 2012, the county adopted the Prairie Dog Habitat Element of the Grassland and Shrubland Management Policy. In the grasslands across the central and western United States, their intricate underground colonies—called prairie dog towns—create shelter for jackrabbits, toads, and rattlesnakes. Native to the Great Plains region of the United States between Canada and Mexico, black-tailed prairie dogs live in colonies on these grasslands. Though prairie dog habitat had decreased tremendously and their numbers have dwindled dramatically, people are still trying to wipe out these highly social creatures. The plan strives to achieve wildlife habitat protection goals while also preserving agriculture and maintaining good neighbor relations. Populations of this species occur in either higher elevations (referred to as montane populations) or lower elevations (referred to as prairie populations) (USFWS 2008). Prairie Dog Species Black-tailed prairie dogs, the best known of the five prairie dog species, live in larger communities called towns, which may contain many hundreds of animals. Topography The topography for their habitat is: flat, open grass lands and Shrubs, grasslands w/ low relatively sparse vegetation/ grass lands. Black-tailed prairie dogs occur in the extreme south of central Canada, throughout the United States, and in north-eastern Mexico. Prairie dogs are the keystone species of our short-grass prairies, one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world. W ell, right by the verge of the prairie, there are usually streams that the prairie dogs drink from. Prairie dogs live in large colonies in underground burrows. These calls are part of a complex communication system prairie dogs use for security. Scapegoated for crop damage and livestock injuries, prairie dogs are used as live targets in organized shoots on public lands, miles away from crops and cattle. They inhabit much of the Great Plains and other prairies in the western part of the US. These patches are used by an abundance of wild creatures, such as burrowing owls, ferruginous hawks, mountain plovers, and horned larks. Prairie dogs are often blamed for damaging crops by eating too much vegetation and their burrows are accused of damaging farm machinery or injuring cattle. Prairie dog populations have declined nearly 95 percent due to habitat loss, government-sanctioned poisoning, and shooting. They are often found near river flats and in coulee bottomlands where … The plan was updated on February 25, 2016. You might wonder how a prairie dog gets its water.