Prairie dog Prairie dog Prairie dogs (genus Cynomys) are herbivorous burrowing rodents native to the grasslands of North America. The five species are: black-tailed, white-tailed, Gunnison's, Utah, and Mexican prairie dogs. They are a type of ground squirrel, found in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In Mexico, prairie dogs are found primarily in the northern states, which lie at the southern end of the Great Plains: northeastern Sonora, north and northeastern Chihuahua, northern Coahuila, northern Nuevo León, and northern Tamaulipas. In the United States, they range primarily to the west of the Mississippi River, though they have also been introduced in
Black-tailed prairie dog prey items. Grasslands inhabited by black-tailed prairie dogs support higher biodiversity than grasslands not occupied by them. Hundreds of species of vertebrates and invertebrates are associated with black-tailed prairie dog colonies. Vertebrate species richness on their colonies increases with colony size and density. West of the Missouri River in Montana, 40% (100 species) of all vertebrate fauna in prairie habitats rely on black-tailed prairie dog colonies for food, nesting, and/or denning. Rare and declining species, such as the black-footed ferret, swift fox ("Vulpes velox"), mountain plover ("Charadrius montanus"), and burrowing owl ("Athene cunicularia") are associated with colonies. Because their foraging