Prairie Dog Prayer
Prairie dogs are a nuisance for most farmers and ranchers
This article is obviously biased against prairie dogs, but does provide an insight into the mindset of farmers and ranchers. There are numerous studies documenting that prairie dogs do not compete with cattle for forage as there are numerous studies documenting the opposite. It is just a matter of who performed the study. I think the answer to this is that prairie dogs become an issue for farmers and ranchers AFTER farmers and ranchers have turned PRAIRIE into farms and ranches. Read the article at:Farms and Ranches
No freedom to ruin public lands
Wild mustangs are an invasive species in the American West. But, then, so are all the humans living here who are not of American Indian descent.
The wild lands in Utah and other Western states where wild horses now roam are fragile and arid — places easily endangered by encroaching, rapidly multiplying horses numbering in the thousands and tens of millions of people who are multiplying even faster and doing more to threaten the land.
Humans have all but obliterated many of the native plant and animal species, including wolves, buffalo, beaver, otters, sage grouse, tortoises, prairie dogs and myriad varieties of plants and even fish.
Running cattle on fragile public land causes more harm than wild horses do, but the humans who have taken over this part of the globe do not want to share scarce feed with animals they cannot work, sell or butcher.
Read More: Public Land
Prairie Dog Daze
Cute is not a reason to go on living in the grander evolutionary scheme of things, but it must count for 
something. People love prairie dogs, even if they are next thing to a rat.
Michael Burns never expected to be walking around the plaza dressed in a big, fuzzy, buff-colored costume on the Saturday after Earth Day, hugging children and carrying a cardboard placard that said “Prairie dog family values.” The 36-year-old self-employed salesman who moved to Santa Fe from Portland, Ore. about four years ago, said he never thought much about prairie dogs until recently.
Read More: Daze
Devils Tower adopts new prairie dog plan
A new Prairie Dog Management Plan for Devils Tower National Monument is now being put into place after a “Finding of No Significant Impact” report was recently finalized.
The plan will implement an adaptive strategy for the management of the black tailed prairie dog, according to a news release from the Devils Tower staff.
The plan aims to maintain a healthy prairie dog population, protect Monument resources and infrastructure, and ensure human health and safety.
Read more: Devil’s Tower
Should animal cognition be considered by lawmakers for conservation policies?
Should animal cognition be considered by lawmakers for conservation policies? Many scientists believe it should.
The Humane Society Institute for Science & Policy is sponsoring a symposium next week in Washington, D.C., entitled “The Science of Animal Thinking and Emotion: Sentience as a Factor in Policy and Practice.”
Excerpt from the website:
Science is making stunning discoveries about animal cognition, awareness and emotion. How can we leverage this information for positive change in government and industry? This two-day conference brings together thought-leaders in the science and implications of animal sentience, and influential voices in the policy and corporate domains. As the bedrock of ethics, sentience deserves a more prominent place in the legislative and corporate landscape.
Read more at: Cognition
Research Update: Preventing Predation of Endangered Black-footed Ferrets
Black-footed ferrets are one of the most endangered mammals in the world and their recovery efforts include 
a multi-agency captive breeding and reintroduction program. From 1991 to 2010, more than 3,000 captive-reared ferrets were reintroduced at 19 sites across North America. The captive-breeding program has successfully saved ferrets from extinction, but maintaining the captive population and producing kits for reintroduction is expensive. Furthermore, survival rates of captive-reared ferrets are lower than those of wild-born kits.
In an effort to help boost the survival of wild-born black-footed ferrets, scientists with the USDA-APHIS National Wildlife Research Center, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the University of Montana recently tested the effectiveness and feasibility of electric fencing to protect young ferrets from coyote predation at the UL Bend National Wildlife Refuge in Montana.
Researchers fenced portions of two prairie dog colonies within the wildlife refuge in order to exclude coyotes from areas inhabited by adult female ferrets and their litters. Results showed the electric fencing was an effective tool for reducing coyote activity in the study area and researchers observed a 22 percent higher survival rate for ferret kits living in protected areas versus unprotected areas. However, the fencing was not perfect and coyotes were found inside the fenced area on three occasions.
The cost for the fencing and its installation were approximately $7,200 per mile. Maintenance and monitoring costs for 2 months were an additional $1,025 per mile. Based on these numbers, researchers estimate that a 20–30 percent increase in the survival rate of wild-born kits would cost around $4,500 per ferret kit over 10 years. That cost drops to around $2,100 per ferret kit, if monitoring is done using volunteers and donated or borrowed vehicles. This study provides decisionmakers with valuable information for comparing the costs of breeding ferrets in captivity versus improving the survival of existing wild-born ferrets.
Read more: Ferrets
Hastings’ Endangered Species Act “Reform” is the movie “Groundhog Day” all over again
Rep. Doc Hastings recently released a report and a set of proposals that would effectively gut the Endangered Species Act (ESA), severely curtailing the act’s ability to protect the nation’s most imperiled species. He calls it ESA “reform,” but the real goal of Rep. Hastings’ proposals is to drastically weaken or eliminate key protections in the ESA, long a goal of corporate special interests and polluters.
Read More: Defenders
In dogged pursuit: Company moves out animals
Prairie dogs, those little furry critters populating parts of Clovis, are getting a new home and a free bubble bath 
courtesy of the folks at Eco Solutions of Santa Fe.
Read more at: Eco Solutions
Squatting Owls Eavesdrop On Prairie Dogs
Owls react to alarm calls from prairie dogs.
Originally published: Jan 16 2014 – 3:30pm
By: Cat Ferguson, ISNS Contributor
(ISNS) — The term “keystone species” was made for prairie dogs. These charismatic critters build vast underground 
towns across the plains, creating housing for themselves and many other animals. One of the squatters is the Western burrowing owl, a tiny insectivore that makes its home on the outskirts of prairie dog colonies.
New research suggests that the owls don’t just gain a free home from the prairie dogs, but they also eavesdrop on the prairie dogs’ sophisticated alarm calls, which scientists have described as a rudimentary form of grammar. The owls, less than a foot high, sneak tips about lurking predators from their highly vocal housemates, according to a study in next month’s Ethology.
Read more at:Inside Science and Lab Equipment on Owls
Slaughter of the Innocents: Yes, Uncle Sam Is Really Planning to Kill 16,000 Prairie Dogs
Sometimes just trying to get along with a difficult neighbor can make us prisoners in our own homes. It can lead us 
to do things that go against our stated intentions and interests. That seems to be the situation right now for the Thunder Basin National Grassland, a 547,000-acre protected area in northeastern Wyoming.
The U.S. Forest Service, which manages the Grassland, has announced a plan to poison an estimated 16,000 prairie dogs and dramatically shrink the already limited area in which prairie dogs are tolerated. Thunder Basin officials intend to do it despite their declared plans to improve prairie dog habitat. Their method, moreover, is likely to kill a lot of other wildlife in the affected area and, incidentally, squander taxpayer dollars for nothing.
Read more at: Slaughter
Government’s War on Wildlife Called Out by Two Congressmen
The hot seat just got hotter for the rogue agency that’s responsible for the cruel and indiscriminate killing of millions of animals every year in the U.S., following a request for an investigation and congressional review made by two senators.
Wildlife Services (WS) began as Animal Damage Control, which started out killing pests and added predators to its list of targets in 1914. The agency has since expanded its services and has continued killing hundreds of thousands of native animals every year under the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
Read more: Wildlife “DIS” Services
Congressmen question costs, mission of Wildlife Services agency
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s inspector general will investigate a federal agency whose mission is to exterminate birds, coyotes, mountain lions and other animals that threaten the livelihoods of farmers and ranchers.
The investigation of U.S. Wildlife Services is to determine, among other things, “whether wildlife damage management activities were justified and effective.” Biologists have questioned the agency’s effectiveness, arguing that indiscriminately killing more than 3 million birds and other wild animals every year is often counterproductive.
Read more: Wildlife
Conservationists say prairie dog proposal could hamper endangered species reintroduction
Conservation groups are criticizing a proposal to reduce the amount of land protected for prairie dogs in the Thunder Basin National Grassland.
The U.S. Forest Service is considering shrinking the acreage of protected land, largely because ranchers have concerns about livestock being injured in prairie dog holes and acquiring diseases.
But Steve Forrest with Defenders of Wildlife says reducing the prairie dog population could create problems for other wildlife. For example, he says it would hamper efforts to re-introduce endangered species like black-footed ferrets, because the ferrets almost exclusively eat prairie dogs.
Read More: WPM
Prairie dogs critical for ferret recovery, officials say
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is announcing the availability of the black-footed ferret Revised Recovery Plan. The black-footed ferret was historically found throughout the Great Plains, mountain basins and semi-arid grasslands of North America wherever prairie dogs occurred. The species is listed as endangered under the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973.
The ferret’s close association with prairie dogs is an important factor in its decline. From the late 1800s to approximately the 1960s, conversion of native grasslands to cropland as well as poisoning and disease dramatically reduced prairie dog numbers. The ferret population declined as a result.
Read more: Cortez Journal
Guardians Will Challenge Denial of Protections for Gunnison’s Prairie Dogs
Washington, DC – WildEarth Guardians will challenge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (Service) refusal to protect the Gunnison’s prairie dog under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Service recently denied the species protection despite a documented 95 percent decline since the early 1900s and numerous ongoing threats.
“Failure to list the Gunnison’s prairie dog is contrary to the letter and the spirit of the Act,” said Taylor Jones, Endangered Species Advocate for WildEarth Guardians. “The Service is tying itself in knots to avoid listing this keystone species, cherry picking science while ignoring the species’ precipitous decline.”
Read more: WildEarth Guardians
Federal plan for Black-footed Ferrets, prairie dogs announced
DENVER | The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that their 157-page Black-footed ferret Revised 
Recovery Plan is now available.
The Black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) was historically found throughout the Great Plains, mountain basins, and semi-arid grasslands of North America wherever prairie dogs occurred, according to a news release from the federal agency.
The species is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
Read more at: Ferrets
Cuddling Prairie Dogs Remind Us That Sharing A Bed Has Its Downsides
If you’ve ever shared a bed with another person, you know that as nice as it to have someone to cuddle with, it can also interfere with your sleep. Especially when you’re dealing with the dreaded bed hog.
Read more at: Mates
Hunting Isn’t the Answer to Animal ‘Pests’
Wildlife conflicts are a real problem in some communities, but hunting is not the solution. Whether the problem is deer eating tulips or colliding with cars, Lyme disease, or bears getting into garbage, there is always an effective, nonlethal way to handle it.
Read More: Opinion
The Brutal Sport of Prairie Dog Hunting
The other day I was reading up on passenger pigeons and the 19th-century slaughter that rushed a population of billions of birds into extinction over a matter of decades. It reminded me that the same sort of mindless killing happens in the United States even now. It made me think in particular of an afternoon I spent years ago near Rapid City, S.D., with a group of shooters who sometimes jokingly referred to themselves as “the red mist society,” because that’s what a prairie dog turns into on impact with one of their high-powered bullets.
Read more at: Senseless “Sport”
Lobos Need You in ABQ November 20!
The US Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed to strip gray wolves’ endangered species protections and make other changes that threaten the survival and recovery of Mexican gray wolves.
Fifteen years after they were reintroduced, only 75 Mexican gray wolves remain in the wild, and they have undergone dangerous genetic deterioration due to government and private shooting and trapping, along with a freeze on wolf releases to the wild. 
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) now proposes changes to Mexican wolf management —two good changes and many more that will worsen the lobo’s already-tenuous plight.
The FWS will hold a public hearing on its proposal on Wednesday, November 20 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They must listen to all those speaking up for and against the lobo.
Read more at: Lobos
Prairie Dogs FAQ
Prairie dogs are burrowing rodents who live on the plains of North and Central America. They were first documented by Lewis and Clark in their 1804 journals from their journey across the United States. Lewis recognized the similarity between prairie dogs and squirrels (both rodents) and called it the barking squirrel.
Prairie dogs belong to the order Rodentia, the family Sciuridae (along with squirrels and chipmunks), and the genus Cynomys (which means “mouse dog”).
Within that genus are a number of species, including the Gunnison’s prairie dog (Cynomys gunnisoni), the white-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys leucurus), the black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus), the Mexican prairie dog (Cynomys mexicanus) and the Utah prairie dog (Cynomys parvidens).
Gunnison’s Prairie Dogs live in Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. Gunnison’s prairie dogs hibernate from November through March. They are yellow-tan in color, slightly paler than other prairie dog species, and have a short white-tipped tail.
In early 2008, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined that populations of the Gunnison’s prairie dog located in central and south-central Colorado and north-central New Mexico are warranted for protection under the Endangered Species Act, but they could not be listed as endangered because they were deemed a lower priority than other species.
Today, Gunnison’s prairie dogs have no form of federal protection whatsoever. The only exception to this is a protected colony living in Petrified Forest National Park.
DO PRAIRIE DOGS DRINK WATER?
Not usually, but they will. In the wild, they get enough moisture from the native grasses and weeds that they normally eat. In Albuquerque during a drought, they will eat cactus to receive their needed moisture and to prevent starvation. Supplemental water is needed in barren areas and during drought conditions.
IS IT OK TO FEED THEM?
If they have native grasses and weeds (even goathead greens) they don’t need to be fed. However, if their area is barren of foods native to their diet it is ok to feed them. Grass cuttings and alfalfa are the closest foods to their natural diet. Sweets are not natural for them but they love sunflower seeds, corn on the cob, lettuce, peaches, strawberries, watermelon and apples. They don’t like broccoli, zucchini and potatoes.
WHY DO THEY NEED POPULATION CONTROL AND WHERE DO YOU TAKE THEM?
“City” prairie dogs are trapped in small areas and have no predators other than man and automobiles to maintain their population. Eventually they reach maximum population and must be thinned out on parkland in Albuquerque. They are relocated by our volunteers to a refuge south of the city. The ideal time is in June, July or August although they can be relocated in April before the babies are born.
DON’T THEY CARRY THE PLAGUE?
Plague is not carried by prairie dogs but by fleas that can infect all mammals. If a prairie dog is infected by plague carrying fleas, it, and the whole colony, will die. According to the Environmental Health Department, they are not carriers of the Hanta Virus. If prairie dogs are “frisky”, they are healthy.
CAN THEY TRANSMIT RABIES?
While all mammals are believed to be susceptible to rabies, there have been no recorded cases of prairie dogs transmitting rabies to humans. Most likely the animal is killed in the initial attack by a rabid animal, or dies shortly thereafter, before it can develop rabies. Never the less any rabid animal is potentially capable of rabies virus transmission. If the prairie dogs appear to be “frisky” they are most likely healthy and free of disease. Regardless of their condition, prairie dogs, like other wild animals, should not be handled.
WHAT KIND OF PRAIRIE DOGS LIVE IN ALBUQUERQUE?
Gunnisons or white-tailed which are one of five species of ground squirrels. The Black-tailed prairie dogs are no longer found in the Albuquerque area.
DO PRAIRIE DOGS HIBERNATE?
The Gunnison prairie dogs in Albuquerque do … Usually between November and March. Black-tailed prairie dogs do not.
HOW OFTEN DO PRAIRIE DOGS HAVE BABIES?
The usual litter is 3 to 5 pups once a year in May. The babies come above ground in June and begin to eat grasses and weeds instead of nursing. Only about 50% will survive more than 6 months.
Find out more about them by visiting some of our fact sheets here and here and here!
Prairie Dog Facts
- Two of the five species of prairie dogs are protected under The Endangered Species Act. Black-tailed prairie dogs have been granted a “Warranted but Precluded” Threatened Species listing, which means that biologically they deserve protection but the government does not have the resources required for enforcement at this time.
- Overall, prairie dogs inhabit less than 1% of their former range. New Mexico has the smallest remaining acreage of prairie dogs across their historical range. Best estimates on Gunnison’s populations are that they inhabit about 2% of their former region. This means overall numbers are dangerously low since their range is much smaller than that of the Black-tailed Prairie Dog. A surprisingly large percentage of remaining prairie dog colonies live in urban environments.
Prairie dogs are known as a “keystone species.” Over 160 vertebrates alone are associated with large prairie dog colonies and over 80 on “urban” colonies. Possibly the world’s most endangered animal, the Black-footed Ferret, cannot live without prairie dogs. Some other federally protected species are nearly as dependent including the Ferruginous Hawk, the Burrowing Owl, the Swift Fox and the Mountain Plover. Biologists have termed them “perhaps the most important mammal on earth.”
Prairie dogs are important to their environment in three ways:
- They are the primary prey on rangelands and their colonies also provide a greater density of other prey species.
- They provide homes or shelters for dozens of species.
- Their positive effect on soil and vegetation conditions.
- Prairie dogs are annual breeders. About half of the females over two years of age will give birth to 3-5 pups in the spring. The overwhelming majority will not live six months.
- Prairie dogs are highly social and possess the most complex language of any animal ever studied. They display different calls for raptors, coyotes, humans and even humans carrying guns. They have numerous other calls totaling over fifty distinct “words.” Kissing, hugging and grooming are regular pastimes. Burrows are much like homes possessing front and back doors, toilets, listening posts, sleeping quarters and storage rooms.
- Poisoning prairie dogs is unacceptable. The primary poison used induces a slow, painful death that may take up to 72 hours. Other residents of their burrows suffer the same fate. Poisoning for population control is counter-productive. A mature colony left alone tends to expand about 2% per year. A poisoned colony expands at the rate of about 70% per year. Left to their own devices, prairie dogs experience their own natural population declines. They never undergo these decreases if we are constantly inducing our own, unnatural removal on their colonies.
- Shooting definitely has a significant impact on prairie dog populations. One heavily shot area was reduced by 10,000 acres in just a couple of years. Shooting promotes disease, discourages other species from hunting or living in the colony, and is not “hunting.”
For more facts, visit 101 Questions and Answers about Prairie Dogs and Environmental Change and the Prairie Dog
Prairie Dog Talking Points
- Prairie dogs are a keystone species with up to 205 associated vertebrates (9 considered dependent) living with them, using their burrows, or predating upon them
- There are 5 species of prairie dogs. The ones in Albuquerque are Gunnison’s, the others include Mexican, Utah, white and black tailed.
- Gunnison’s prairie dogs hibernate during the winter months.
- Over the last 100 years prairie dogs have been reduced to 1% of their former range and 2% of their population.
- Some of the species are listed under the Endangered Species Act. Others are being considered for listing.
- New Mexico has the smallest remaining acreage of prairie dogs.
- Prairie dogs are territorial and will remain in or near their ancestral habitat if at all possible. The prairie dogs you see here in Albuquerque are the remnants of vast prairie dog towns that existed for hundreds of years.
- Prairie dogs live an average of 3-5 years in the wild.
- Prairie dogs are annual breeders. 50% of females over 2 years of age will breed and produce an average of 4 pups.
- Pups are usually born in early May and will emerge from their burrows after about thirty days.
- Prairie dogs have the most complex language of any animal ever studied.
- They have over 200 words and can form sentences identifying intruders by color, size and type of risk.
- Burrows are complex with a different area for each function of life. There are living chambers, sleeping and nesting rooms, a food storage area,
- toilet rooms, and flood chambers. The burrows themselves generally include a second entrance or escape way, air chambers, and listening posts in addition to the main entrance.
- As with humans, prairie dogs are the victims of plague. Virus carrying fleas are brought into the colony by wild animals or off leash cats or dogs.
- As they have no immunity to the plague they will die within days.
- Poisoning prairie dogs in both cruel and ineffective. The poison causes a slow agonizing death that may take up to three days.
- A mature colony tends to expand at approximately 2% annually. A poisoned colony can expand at an annual rate of 70%. Additionally the poison can pose a danger to humans, cats, dogs, and other animals in the area.
Gunnison’s Prairie Dogs Facts
Populations: The Ultimate Underdog
Gunnison’s Prairie Dogs are a White-tailed subspecies, which inhabits the four corners region. Once ubiquitous, current estimates place their populations at about 2 – 5% of their former range.
Two of the five species of prairie dogs are protected under the Endangered Species Act. There may be fewer Utah Prairie Dogs than Siberian Tigers. Black-tailed Prairie Dogs, the most numerous due their large range, are considered a Candidate for Threatened Listing. They meet all criteria for listing, but the Fish and Wildlife Service does not yet have the resources to enforce the listing, so they were placed on the Candidate List in 2000. They are on about 1% of their former range.
Ecological Importance: A ‘keystone species.’
Prairie dogs are a ‘keystone species,’ or most important element, of their environment.
Up to 160 other species benefit from their presence.
They enrich their environment in three ways:
- As the primary prey on rangelands.
- They build homes or shelter for many species.
- They alter vegetation and soil to promote optimum grazing conditions.
The Black-footed Ferret is the most endangered mammal on our continent and cannot live without prairie dogs under any circumstances.
The Ferruginous Hawk, Swift Fox, Mountain Plover, and Burrowing Owl, are considered for or federally protected species that are considered dependent on prairie dogs. Several other species are considered dependent on prairie dogs. Several other species are considered dependent.
It’s a Dog’s Life: a Brief Description of the Prairie Dogs, Themselves
Prairie dogs possess, perhaps, the most complex language of any animal ever studied. Even more so than primates. They have over fifty primary ‘words’ and can communicate in sentences, distinguish color, speed, and level of threat through language.
Prairie dogs live in family units called ‘coteries’. They often ‘kiss’ in a familial identification. The animals commonly seen poised on their hindquarters are sentries, ever vigilant on the lookout for danger to themselves and families.
Prairie dogs are annual breeders. Fifty percent of females over two years of age will give birth to about 4 pups in the spring. There is tremendous juvenile mortality.
Prairie dogs live to be about five years old in the wild.
Burrows are complex, with separate ‘rooms’ for each function of life. Toilet chambers, sleeping quarters and storage typify a home burrow. Often, listening posts are created near the entrance for added protection. Some burrows have several entrances.
Gunnison’s and White-tailed Prairie Dogs hibernate, or go into torpor, as it is called, from about November through February. Black-tailed Prairie Dogs do not hibernate.
Prairie Dogs and Plague
PRAIRIE DOGS DO NOT TRANSMIT DISEASE TO HUMANS!
In the wild, prairie dogs are the victims of only one disease, plague. Plague was introduced to the west by settlers near the turn of the century and, “…we gave it to the prairie dogs”(1). It was first discovered in New Mexico in 1938(2). This non-native disease is spread by fleas and is carried into prairie dog towns by other animals such as mice, coyotes, and domestic dogs and cats. All mammals are capable of contracting plague. Once the fleas are present in a prairie dog colony, the entire town will perish within days, and individuals live for only a few hours.
Thus, if the plague is present, there are no active prairie dogs within about one week’s time. Such cases suggest that dogs infected with these diseases should be checked and admitted to a veterinary clinic as soon as possible. To prevent the spread of the plague, infected dogs can be euthanized humanely and compassionately if treatment is not possible. For more info on euthanization, visit this article.
Proven cases of human plague contracted from prairie dogs are virtually non-existent. The Centers for Disease Control and the department of health continually reinforce this fact. The CDC’s official position on destroying Prairie Dogs to control plague is, ” We do not recommend routine destruction of prairie dog colonies”(3). One CDC report specifically on plague says, “Plague in Cynomys Gunnisoni (Gunnison’s Prairie Dog) is devastating. Mortality during a plague epizootic typically exceeds 99%. Although mortality is great and flea infection rates may reach tremendous levels, human cases resulting from prairie dog plague are relatively few….and result from direct contact with an infected animal…Opisocrostis spp, (the fleas), maybe reluctant to bite humans”(4).
Cases of people contracting plague from live prairie dogs are non-existent. People who have been known to contract plague from prairie dogs can be traced to handling the corpse of an infected animal (5).
Some states have no record of anyone ever contracting disease from prairie dogs. The chances of contracting plague from a live prairie dog are so infinitesimally slim, it is simply a non-issue. Fleas will only seek a new host if the original host is deceased. For this reason, The Colorado Department of Health states, ...poisoning of burrowing rodents should not be routinely employed because this could release fleas into the environment and cause an increased risk to humans and pets” (6). Poisoning causes fleas to leave prairie dogs and other rodents in their burrows. This is the only time when a human health risk becomes a factor. Common sense points to the fact that having dozens of corpses present in an area is not a healthy environment for human activity. In contrast, everyone who regularly works with prairie dogs is vitally healthy. The writers of this plan have handled thousands of prairie dogs and they are all alive and well today. Nobody who regularly works with prairie dogs has ever suffered health complications of any kind. Though nearly impossible, if plague did strike in our times, plague is not synonymous with death. The disease can be treated with modern antibiotics and recovery rate is high, recovery time fairly brief.
Existing prairie dog colonies in Albuquerque neither have plague or would infect humans. One value of ‘city dogs’ is that if there is a large plague outbreak in an ecologically significant colony, these healthy animals can be reintroduced to prevent the collapse of the ecosystem. Plague can be controlled or prevented by using proper flea powder in prairie dog burrows once or twice per year (7). This practice is common in New Mexico and is generally conducted by the Department of Health or Environmental Divisions.
May we take this opportunity to reinforce the fact that prairie dogs are not able to become infected by or transmit any other disease including rabies or hanta virus. Plague is just another, tremendous threat against the survival of prairie dogs and their ecosystem. Gunnison’s prairie dogs, the variety in Albuquerque, are down to about 2% of their historical range (8) and are under consideration for listing under the Endangered Species Act (9).
Find out more about the dynamics of a plague outbreak here.
Literature Cited
1. Coniff, Richard 1998. Citing Pape, John. Epidiologist for Co Dept. of Health. Quoted on Wildlife Adventures, “Underdogs, Prairie Dogs Under Attack” Turner Productions, TBS
2. Cully, Jack. 1986 Metapopulation Characteristics of Sylvatic Plague Among Gunnison’s Prairie Dogs In the Moreno Valley, NM.(Citing Webber, 1978) Museum for Southwestern Biology, Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM.
Cully, Jack F., Williams, Elizabeth S. 2001.Interspecific Comparisons of Sylvatic Plague in Prairie Dogs. Journal of Mammalogy. 82: 894-905
3. Reply letter to Prairie Ecosystems regarding official position of the CDC on prairie dogs and plague. Kathleen Orloski, DVM, MS, Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer. April 26, 1995.
4.. Centers for Disease Control Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. “Human Plague”, April 8, 2004, Vol. 43, No 13.
5.. Rocky Mountain News Spotlight article, “Dogs of War” quoting John Pape, Infectious Disease Specialist for The Colorado Dept. of Health. May 4, 1998.
6. Colorado Department of Health brochure, “Facts About Plague”, 1993.
7. Department of Health regular practice for controlling fleas. Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge and Plains Conservation Center have had tremendous success in controlling the spread of plague to reintroduced prairie dogs through this technique.
8. Knowles, C. 2001. Status of the Gunnison’s prairie dog. FWS & NWF.
9. Forest Guardians. 2004. Petition to List the Gunnison’s Prairie Dog as Threatened or Endangered Throughout its Range. Feb 23, 2004. www.fguardians.org
Prepared by: Prairie Ecosystems