1. Prairie Dog By Sierra

2. 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.

3. Lifespan  A prairie dog’s lifespan is 3-5 years in the wild and 8 years in captivity.

4. Eating Habits/Diet  A prairie dog is a omnivore.  A prairie dog eats grasses, roots, sedges, seeds, forbs, insects, and flowering plants.

5. Population  Prairie dog’s used to number in the hundreds of millions, but now they may number from 10-20 million.

6. Habitat/Range  Prairie dogs live in tunnels.  Prairie dogs were once found across the Great Plains from southern Canada to northern Mexico.

7. 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.

8. Fun Fact  Prairie dogs are colonial animals that live in complex networks of tunnels with multiple openings.

9. Endangered Because  Prairie dogs are endangered because of poisoning, shooting, and a exotic disease called sylvatic plague.

10. Reference  Defenders of the Wild. 2012. www.defenders.org www.defenders.org