Family: Sciuridae, Squirrels view all from this family
Description Stocky. Pinkish buff mixed with black above; slightly paler below. Short, white-tipped tail; terminal half entirely white. Dark patches above and below eyes; yellowish nose. Small ears. L 13 3/8–14 1/2 " (340–370 mm); T 1 5/8–2 1/2" (40–65 mm); HF 2 5/8–2 1/2" (60–65 mm);Wt 24–40 oz (675–1,125 g).
Similar Species Black-tailed Prairie Dog has black-tipped tail and lacks dark patches over and under eyes. Gunnison’s Prairie Dog has grayish hairs in center of terminal half of tail.
Breeding Mates in March; 1 litter per year averaging 5 young. Gestation is about 30 days.
Habitat Sagebrush plains at high elevations.
Range Western Wyoming, ne Utah, and nw Colorado.
Discussion Although the habits of the White-tailed Prairie Dog are similar to those of the Black-tailed, the White-tailed is less colonial, with only a few of its burrows interlinked with those of other individuals. It also engages in fewer social contacts such as "kissing," mutual grooming, and cooperative burrow building. Unlike the Black-tailed, it lives at high, cool elevations (mountain meadows and high pastures rather than level plains) and hibernates throughout the longer winters, entering its burrows by late October and reemerging in March. It is believed to awaken occasionally during hibernation, at which times it does not emerge but probably feeds on stored roots and seeds. Its preferred foods are grasses and forbs, and in some areas it is forced to rely heavily on saltbush. All prairie dogs gain weight rapidly in summer; a White-tailed that weighs 1 1/2 pounds (680 g) when the grasses begin to sprout may weigh twice as much before hibernation. Because of the cold winters in its range, the White-tailed Prairie Dog breeds slightly later—chiefly in March at higher elevations—than the Black-tailed. Young do not appear at burrow entrances until May or June. This animal’s vocalizations, including alarm calls, resemble those of the Black-tailed Prairie Dog. Circling birds of prey elicit the most pronounced alarm response: a few quick, terrified yaps and every prairie dog in sight disappears down a hole. The life span of this species is four or five years. Its predators, in addition to birds of prey, include American Badgers, Bobcats, and Coyotes; floods and fires also take a toll. In some regions, burrowing owls and rattlesnakes reside in vacated prairie dog burrows (as do Black-footed Ferrets on the plains), and there is a widespread belief that rattlers kill many of the rodents. Without doubt, they kill a few pups in spring, but mature prairie dogs show surprisingly little fear of them. If rattlesnakes killed as many as some suppose, many "dog towns" would soon become ghost towns.
