Prairie Dogs A keystone species

What is a keystone specie? A keystone species is an animal or plant that plays an important role in an ecosystem. Most animals depend on a keystone specie, since keystone species are assigned a specific role to benefit one another. If a specific keystone specie is removed from a specific location, the habitat would change dramatically.

Prairie Dogs Prairie dogs are an important role in an ecosystem since they conserve water, improve soil, and create new shelters for other animals. This makes them a Keystone Specie. This animal belongs to the squirrel family due to it’s image of it’s black or white tail and it’s diet of pure vegetation. Prairie dogs are also a good food source for plenty of animals such as coyotes, badgers, eagles, and ferrets.

What happens if Prairie Dogs go extinct? If for any reason Prairie Dogs go extinct, plenty of other animals would follow their path. Animals such as owls, ferrets, snakes, badgers, and coyotes would disappear. Owls, snakes and badgers would pass away since they depend on Prairie Dog’s to build their underground shelter. Other animals like coyotes and ferrets would depend on them for a nutritious meal.

Prairie Dog Facts Prairie Dogs live in the underground burrows/tunnels of North America’s grasslands. Prairie Dogs weigh between 1 ½ to 3lbs and are 11 to 13 inches long. Their tails grow up to 3 to 4 inches long. There are two types of different Prairie Dogs. There is a black tailed Prairie Dog and a white tailed Prairie Dog. The black tailed Prairie lives in towns, while the white tailed Prairie lives in western mountains.

Family Groups A male, a few females, and their young inhabit burrows and work to share food, chase off other prairie dogs, and groom one another. These group members greet one another with a prairie dog kisses or nuzzle. Young pups are very playful and can often be seen romping near their burrows.