In 1900, Lewis and Clark saw a strange town in Texas. It was about 100 miles long, and 250 miles wide. About 400-million beings lived in this town. Nobody welcomed them. There were no coaches, cars, or bicycles on the streets of this town. In fact, there were no streets in the town. What kind of town could it be? 

Welcome to the Prairie Dog town! 

The ‘houses’ in the town are funnel-shaped tunnels. The tunnel opens into a long, steep passage. Just like in our homes, the sides of the  tunnel have rooms for storage, nesting, and escape. All this is the work of an animal weighing less than 3 pounds. 

Wards are small divisions of the town. Each ward has many coteries. Each coterie is home to a family. There are five adults—one male and four adult females—and many pups in each family. Pups under two years of age live with their parents. When the pups are older, adults move over to the edge of the town, leaving the children in the familiar home. Each group begins to live on their own. The town keeps growing!

Wards are small divisions of the town. Each ward has many coteries. Each coterie is home to a family. There are five adults—one male and four adult females—and many pups in each family. Pups under two years of age live with their parents. When the pups are older, adults move over to the edge of the town, leaving the children in the familiar home. Each group begins to live on their own. The town keeps growing! 

All adult prairie dogs take turns to watch for their enemies when they are out.  Hawks, owls, eagles, ravens, coyotes, badgers, ferrets, and snakes eat prairie dogs. A guard stands atop a volcano-like ring of earth piled around the burrow. To signal danger, the guard bobs up and down, barking a sharp danger signal. Prairie dogs make different danger sounds for eagles, or snakes, and other animals. In the twinkle of an eye, all prairie dogs vanish into their burrows!

The prairie dogs live in big groups. They greet each other with a ‘smile’—they bare their white teeth. Cool morning and evening hours are their favorite time of the day. During this time, they visit friends, groom, play, and eat. Prairie dogs eat seeds, grass, flowers, insects, and herbs that grow in the prairie. 

Prairie Dog towns also attract and protect animals like bison, jackrabbits, burrowing owls, and rattlesnakes. They also provide a home for their rare predator, the black-footed ferret. Today, Prairie Dog towns are becoming rare. 

Visit a Prairie Dog town before they’re all gone!

Relatives of the Prairie Dog: 

Ground squirrels, chipmunks, and marmots are closely related to Prairie Dogs.  

Black-tailed Prairie Dogs are common from central Texas to Canada.  

The White-tailed Prairie Dog lives in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana. This species hibernates through the winter.  

Gunnison's Prairie Dog lives only in the mountains.  

The Mexican Prairie Dog lives only in Mexico.  

Utah Prairie Dog is the smallest of all prairie dogs. It’s rare and in danger of dying out.