Gunnison's prairie dog guide: where they live, what they eat - and why they are called dogs

Meet the cute and charismatic Gunnison's prairie dog

BBC Wildlife Magazine

Published: July 24, 2023 at 2:26 pm

What is a prairie dog?

A prairie dog is not a dog or a member of the canine family but rather a rodent and member of the Sciuridae family, which includes squirrels.

Why is a prairie dog called a dog?

Prairie dogs are called dogs because the sound they make is said to sound like a dog's bark

How big are Gunnison's prairie dogs?

Gunnison's prairie dogs are between 30–37cm long (males are larger than females) and weigh between 900–950g.

What do Gunnison's prairie dogs look like

They have a yellow-buff coat with grizzled effect produced by dark hairs. Greyish- white tip to tail; in all other prairie dog species, the tail-tip is pure white or black.

What do they eat?

Grass stems, herbs, seeds and the leaves of shrubs

Where do they live?

They favour grassland and semi-desert; also found in brush at higher elevations of up to 3,600m. Burrows are often sited on slopes to avoid flooding.

Gunnison's prairie dogs have a relatively small range that stretches from the plains of northern Arizona and New Mexico into south-east Utah and south-west Colorado.

How long do they live for?

Their lifespan is between 3–5 years in the wild.

Do they hibernate?

Gunnison's prairie dogs enters a period of torpor between late September and March.

How do they breed?

After emergence in spring, females are sexually receptive for just one day. A litter of 4–6 pups is produced after a gestation period of about 30 days.

Main image © Getty Images

BBC Wildlife Magazine

The Gunnison's Prairie Dog (Cynomys gunnisoni) is a rodent and member of the squirrel family. They are primarily distributed in the Four Corners region of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. Their coats are light brown mixed with black-colored hairs. The top of the head, cheeks, and eyebrows are darker than the rest of the body. The tail is mostly white. The prairie dog’s eyes are on the sides of the head to give them wide peripheral vision to more easily spot predators. The Gunnison's prairie dog typically feeds during the day on grasses, herbs, and leaves. In the spring, they feed on newly grown shrubs. In the summer they mainly consume seeds. Prairie dog habitat includes meadows, grasslands, high desert and floodplains. They are often found in areas of rabbitbrush, sagebrush, and saltbrush. Gunnison's prairie dogs live in large colonies of up to several hundred. They are more active in the early morning and late afternoon especially during hot weather. When the temperatures are cooler, they become more active throughout the day. When it rains or snows, the prairie dog will spend its time underground. When they are above ground, they feed, make social contact, look out for predators, groom and dig their burrows. During the winter, the Gunnison's prairie dog hibernates for long periods of time without food or water, instead relying on stored fat and physiological adaptations to slow their metabolism. After hibernation, they become active from April through October. The Gunnison's prairie dog has a complex system of vocal communication. Their bark is a combination of high-pitched syllables to identify various predators. They also have different sounds for an "all-clear" signal. There may be up to 11 distinct warning calls used by the prairie dog. This Gunnison’s prairie dog was photographed in a prairie dog colony by Walnut Canyon Lakes in Flagstaff, Arizona, USA.

Gary Brookshaw / Getty Images