09/04/2026
It's another ! 🐿This week, we're talking all things Black-tailed Prairie Dog.
This adorable ground squirrel is an infamous critter that inhabits grasslands from southern Canada to Mexico, including in our restoration sites in central South Dakota!
Prairie Dogs live in family groups called "coterie," burrowing far underground and creating a dome-shaped mound at the entrances. Though these mounds just look like piles of dirt, they actually prevent burrows from flooding during the heavy rains that are a feature of the Great Plains' dramatic weather systems. What's more, these raised entrances also serve as effective predator viewing points, but to maintain their views, Prairie Dogs must constantly graze the vegetation surrounding their burrows. This grazing promotes diverse, nutritious forage for many herbivores (including Bison 🦬), while their burrows provide homes for many other wildlife species, including Burrowing Owls, Swift Foxes, and snakes 🐍. Black-tailed Prairie Dogs play a vital role in the Great Plains ecosystem, so don't mistake their adorable demeanor for ineffectiveness!
Have you ever seen a Prairie Dog before?
Image: A Black-tailed Prairie Dog in the Great Plains of South Dakota stands on the bare dirt entrance to its burrow with short, grassy vegetation visible in the background. Text reading "Black-tailed Prairie Dog" appears above and partially behind the Prairie Dog.
