prairie dog by sierra. physical characteristics a prairie dog’s length is 12-15 inches. their...

Prairie DogBy Sierra

Physical Characteristics A prairie dog’s length

is 12-15 inches. Their tail is 2-3 inches.

A prairie dog’s weight is 1-3 lbs.

A prairie dog’s color is black.

Prairie dog’s once occupied 40-80 million acres in a 400 million acre region.

Lifespan A prairie dog’s

lifespan is 3-5 years in the wild and 8 years in captivity.

Eating Habits/Diet A prairie dog is a

omnivore. A prairie dog eats

grasses, roots, sedges, seeds, forbs, insects, and flowering plants.

Population Prairie dog’s used

to number in the hundreds of millions, but now they may number from 10-20 million.

Habitat/Range Prairie dogs live in

tunnels. Prairie dogs were

once found across the Great Plains from southern Canada to northern Mexico.

Adaptations A prairie dog’s teeth

help the prairie dog chew.

A prairie dog’s claws help the prairie dog keep a hold of the prairie dog’s food.

A prairie dog’s eyes help the prairie dog see the prairie dog’s prey.

Fun Fact Prairie dogs are

colonial animals that live in complex networks of tunnels with multiple openings.

Endangered Because Prairie dogs are

endangered because of poisoning, shooting, and a exotic disease called sylvatic plague.

Reference Defenders of the Wild. 2012.

www.defenders.org