Black-tailed Prairie Dog

The black-tailed prairie dog is a burrowing ground squirrel native to the grasslands of central North America, named for the black tip of its tail, and the most widespread of the prairie dog species, living in large, complex underground colonies known as towns that can historically have covered vast areas of the Great Plains. It is highly social, with an elaborate system of alarm calls that can vary depending on the type of approaching predator, and its burrowing activity aerates soil and provides shelter used by numerous other prairie species, making it an important ecosystem engineer. Black-tailed prairie dog populations have declined substantially from historic levels due to habitat conversion to agriculture, poisoning campaigns and disease, leading to its classification as near threatened despite remaining locally common in parts of its range.