Black-tailed prairie dog Black-tailed prairie dog The black-tailed prairie dog ("Cynomys ludovicianus") is a rodent of the family Sciuridae found in the Great Plains of North America from about the United States-Canada border to the United States-Mexico border. Unlike some other prairie dogs, these animals do not truly hibernate. The black-tailed prairie dog can be seen above ground in midwinter. A black-tailed prairie dog town in Texas was reported to cover and included 400,000,000 individuals. Prior to habitat destruction, this species may have been the most abundant prairie dog in central North America. This species was one of two described by the Lewis
Black-tailed prairie dog eagles ("Aquila chrysaetos"), ferruginous hawks ("Buteo regalis"), red-tailed hawks ("Buteo jamaicensis"), and prairie rattlesnakes ("Crotalus viridis"). Although now very rare, black-footed ferrets ("Mustela nigripes") were once a major predator of the black-tailed prairie dog. Black-tailed prairie dogs have been called "ecosystem engineers" due to their influence on the biotic and abiotic characteristics of their habitat, landscape architecture, and ecosystem structure and function. Research suggests black-tailed prairie dogs are a keystone species in some, but not all, geographic areas. Black-tailed prairie dogs enhance the diversity of vegetation, vertebrates, and invertebrates through their foraging and burrowing activities and by their presence as