Abstract
Prairie dogs (Figure 1) are large (approximately 1 kg as adults), herbivorous rodents that burrow and live colonially. Historically, the most abundant and widely distributed species, the black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus), was common throughout the shortand mixed-grass prairies of the Great Plains. It is impossible to estimate accurately the average size or density of prairie dog colonies in presettlement times, but they covered about Figure 1. Black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) on a soil mound surrounding a burrow entrance at Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota. As long as a burrow is inhabited, prairie dogs maintain the area around the entrance free from vegetation.
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