Pictures and facts about the Black-tailed prairie dog

At first glance Prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) resemble Marmots. But they are smaller and their fur is normally shorter and straighter. Like Marmots Prairie dogs are rodents and belong to the same group, the Squirrels (Sciuromorpha). Nowadays there is the existence of five Prairie dog species established. The best-known is the Black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus), the Prairie dog, which inhabited the prairies of the North American Middle West in large colonies and which also played a dominant role in many films about the prairie and its wildlife. As one can tell by its name, the Black-tailed prairie dog's last third of the tail is black. The colour of the rest of the fur varies from yellow-grey to brown with speckles. Prairie dogs are up to 35 cm long and reach weights of about 1,5 kg. According to their habitat the Prairie dogs' favourite food is grass.