Wildlife major helps with research on endangered prairie dogs

May 6, 2014 by Ed Urbanski

Getting up before dawn never appealed to Penn State date of birth to be 21 todaysenior Elyse McMahon, but last summer it was exactly what she wanted to be doing. From June to August, her days began early with trapping and handling endangered Utah prairie dogs for data collection.

The wildlife and fisheries science major headed west to be part of a study to determine if a new type of bait containing a trial vaccine could help eliminate the sylvatic plague in prairie dogs. Students collected data that U.S. Geological Survey employees analyzed.

What do prairie dogs eat?

January 24, 2023 By PDP

The vast majority of this creature’s diet consists of plants, making them herbivores. They eat mostly grasses, shrubs, roots, and seeds. Though the different species don’t specialize on a specific type of plant, they do each have different preferences. https://defenders.org/wildlife/prairie-dog Black-tailed prairie dogs mainly consume grasses, sedges, forbs (flowering plants), roots and seeds, though they […]

What do prairie dogs eat?

January 24, 2023 By PDP

Prairie dogs are herbivorous (i.e., they eat plants such as grasses and forbs [grass-like flowering plants]). Prairie dogs also occasionally insects that they find above ground. They do not drink because they get all of the water they need from the plants. A review of studies on prairie dog food habits shows variable results. Prairie […]

What do prairie dogs eat?

January 24, 2023 By PDP

When it comes to diet, the prairie dog seems to be on the veg side of things. It practically has no business with flesh as one would assume. It believes in green food; perhaps because it offers more nutrients and is more readily available in its natural environment. Prairie dogs feed on grass, plants, root, […]