Good Dogs … Bad Dogs? - human attitudes toward prairie dogs

Ranger Rick, Feb, 2000 by Claire Miller

Some people say prairie dogs are great creatures to have around. Others say they're pests. So who's right, anyway?

It's great fun to visit a prairie dog town (a place where lots of the little animals live). You can watch them playing, fighting, eating, rubbing noses, and barking warnings to each other. They pop in and out of their burrows. And they chase each other around. A prairie dog town is a busy place!

But not everyone thinks prairie dogs are wonderful to have around. For example, many cattle ranchers poison and shoot prairie dogs. Why? The "dogs" eat prairie grasses--and so do cattle. Some ranchers don't want their cattle to have to share food with furry little grass-gobblers.

GOOD WILDLIFE NEIGHBORS

There are five species (kinds) of prairie dogs, and they look a lot alike. They're not dogs, of course--they're really ground squirrels. They're called "dogs" only because they bark and yip at each other.

For other wild animals, prairie dogs are good to have around. When the "dogs" move to new burrows, animals such as burrowing owls and rabbits find shelter by moving into the old burrows. Prairie dogs are also important food for many wild animals.

TOWNS IN TROUBLE

Big tires on construction machines bring big trouble for prairie dogs. The two little ones below seem to be asking, "Where will we go when they put up new houses for people?"

Prairie dogs once lived all over the American prairies. These grasslands covered much of the West (see map).

But many prairie dogs disappeared when farmers dug up the prairie grasses and planted crops instead. And most of the rest of the grasslands became ranches where prairie dogs weren't wanted. Besides that, buildings and roads have been gobbling up the places where the prairie dogs once lived.

You might think that prairie dogs living on government land would be safe. But people who live near that land often complain if the "dogs" move to their property. So some government workers have been poisoning prairie dogs.

There are still prairie dogs around, of course. But most of them are living in places that aren't as good for them as the prairies once were. And, to make things worse, some of these animals are now dying from a disease.

GOOD NEWS

Some ranchers are learning that it's good to have prairie dogs around. When prairie dogs dig burrows, they keep the soil loose. And that lets rain get to the roots of the grass. What's more, prairie dog poop is a kind of fertilizer. It helps the grass grow tender and tasty. Cattle often like that grass best of all.

That's not all. Now prairie dogs are no longer being poisoned on most government land. In fact, some of this land is being turned back into wild prairies for the animals.

SCIENTISTS TO THE RESCUE

Scientists are working hard to help prairie dogs too. They are looking for ways to stop the deadly disease that is spreading among the animals.

Other scientists are trying to find out every detail about the way prairie dogs live. They especially want to figure out what goes on underground. And how will that help the animals? The scientists will then be able to tell the people who make our laws what prairie dogs really need. With luck, new laws will give the little "dogs" lots of great places to live once again.

Crunch, munch! These prairie dogs are nibbling their way through breakfast in a park. The grass is good, and the soil beneath the grass is just right for their maze of tunnels.

Western ranchers, such as this man, usually aren't happy to have prairie dogs living on their land.

Here's how people try to save prairie dogs when a dog town is about to be plowed up. They pump soapy water into the burrows and then catch the bubbly animals as they run out. But it's often hard to find new places for the prairie dogs to live.

Great numbers of prairie dogs used to live in the area shown in yellow. Now not nearly as many of them live there. The dog towns are much farther apart and smaller than they used to be. For every 100 prairie dogs that used to live in the United States, only about one survives today.

Some scientists are trying to learn all they can about prairie dogs. This little "dog" is getting marked with black paint.

Now the scientists will be able to tell it from the other ones they're studying.

Whoa--the two marked prairie dogs at right are "hopping" mad. What's the fuss? They're both males. And they're fighting over who owns this place and who gets to mate with the females that live nearby.

Someday, little "dogs" like these may have great new grassy places to grow up in.

IS MORE HELP ON THE WAY?

"Black-tailed prairie dogs are in trouble and need help now!" That's what the National Wildlife Federation (the group that publishes Ranger Rick magazine)

has told the United States government.

The black-tailed prairie dogs are the ones being shot and poisoned the most. If the government agrees to help these prairie dogs, most of the shooting and poisoning will be stopped. It may happen before this month's magazine is published. You can find out more on Ranger Rick's Web site after February 1, 2000. Check it out at www.nwf.org/rrick/newthismonth.html