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 more often than those that did not. In addition, the caller may be trying to make itself more noticeable to the predator. However, a predator seems to have difficulty determining which prairie dog is making the call due to its "ventriloquistic" nature. Also, when a prairie dog makes a call, the others seem not to run into the burrows, but stand on the mounds to see where the predator is, making themselves visible to the predator. Perhaps the most conspicuous prairie dog communication is the territorial call or "jump-yip" display. A prairie dog will stretch the length of its body