Range and Habitat: Black-tailed prairie dogs occur in open, arid, prairies from central Texas in the south to just north of the Canadian-United States boundary. Historically, their range was greater, going from Nebraska to Montana and from Canada to Mexico, but intense eradication efforts by ranchers reduced them to a few isolated populations.
Diet: Black-tailed prairie dogs are primarily herbivorous, eating grasses, wild flowers, and forbs, but may occasionally eat insects. They do not need to drink water to survive because they get all their moisture requirements from eating plants.
Prairie dogs live in extensive underground burrows consisitng of tunnels and chambers marked by mounds of packed earth at their surface entrances.
Fun Facts: The largest colony ever recorded was in Texas with an estimated 400 million prairie dogs!
