Black-tailed prairie dog  (Cynomys ludovicianus)

Prairie dogs have suffered from habitat loss and persecution as ranching and farming has expanded during the past 50 years or more (1) (5). As agriculture and livestock ranching claimed habitat previously used by these rodents, the prairie dogs became vilified by farmers and the target of poisoning campaigns (1). Prairie dogs are widely considered a pest and exterminated through poisoning and shooting for destroying cultivated crops (9). They are also reported to compete with cattle and sheep for grasses, although there is little evidence for this, and their burrow systems are alleged to present hazards to cattle and horses, making broken legs a threat, although this is also rare (10). As a result, the former range and numbers of the black-tailed prairie dog have been dramatically reduced, and the considerable reduction in population numbers has also seriously threatened, amongst others, the black-footed ferret (classified as Extinct in the Wild), for which they were virtually sole prey (6). Nevertheless, many black-tailed prairie dog colonies persist in protected areas (10), and this remains the most common and widespread of the five prairie dog species (9).

Still widespread, relatively common, and existing in a number of protected areas, the black-tailed prairie dog is not considered to be under any serious threat of extinction in the foreseeable future, and conservation measures are therefore limited (8). The Prairie Dog Coalition has been established to protect the animals and restore prairie dog ecosystems, as well as aiming to raise public awareness of the plight they face at the hands of agricultural expansion and misinformed farmers (11).