can some American friends help me with this question?

Question

can you tell me about the american prairie dog? Do they roam in packs?
In which part of america do they mostly live?
Are the numbers declining?
can they be domesticated and kept as pets?

thanks

Answer 1

I can answer the last question. Yes, they can be domesticated and kept as pets. I've talked with several prairie dog owners who were very attached to their pets. However, PDs (prairie dogs) are very social animals, and they don't do well if kept alone. They need friends.

Okay, I just saw an article saying that because of their being prone to diseases, they've now been banned as pets in many parts of the US and Europe. But I do know of people who had them as pets, and loved them deeply. One PD owner told me that he spent literally thousands of dollars trying to save his PD when it got sick (the poor thing died anyhow).

Answer 2

They had a colony around the campus building where I worked, and they dug up the lawns something awful. One day I slipped out a back door to smoke a cigarette, and I saw a red fox, about 20 feet away from the door, with a prairie dog hanging out of his mouth. He was surprised to see me, but he ran off without dropping that prairie dog. Had himself a little "fast food," that fox did...

Answer 3

Check on Search The Web, then type Prairie Dog, you should get a good description on wikipedia. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

They don't really roam, they more or less live in a community. We have a lot in Kansas. And no the numbers DO NOT decline.
I wouldn't bother with domestication, they like to live in the ground. You could move to Kansas and buy a property in the middle of nowhere and feed them from you porch.

Answer 5

Wow, sometimes I have to double check which category I'm in! I don't think they roam in "packs" but, live in little colonies, in the western prairie states. I don't think they make good pets, as a matter of fact, I heard they can carry diseases.

Answer 6

Prairie dogs roam live mainly in the western states, where they roam the cities in large gangs, looking for unsuspecting victims. Once they've cornered someone--usually a hooker or a drunken homeless guy--they attack the person, drag him/her into an alley, and suck the victim dry of blood. It is not advised that you try to keep them as pets.

Answer 7

And don't think that they really look like dogs! They're nothing like a coyote or wolf. So no, they don't roam in packs. They're fun to watch, but not fun to live with. They can tear up yards and lawns and fields with all their burrows, and people have actually been hurt by not seeing their holes until it's too late and have broken ankles and such! Cute little boogers, but not well loved and with good reason.

Answer 8

they are in the rodent family and live in communities using a network of tunnels. they spend a lot of time underground. i live in the country and there are a few herds of Buffalo, the prairie dog is fun of wallows to build their tunnels. the ranchers consider them pest as horses can break legs falling in the holes so that is a menace. they are fun to watch and can be made into pets if you get them when they are young, older ones can't be tamed so well. they do carry diseases so you would have to be careful of that.

Answer 9

Don't know much, they are in a different part of the country from me ...

They borrow, pop up out of the holes. Apparently are destrctive to crops. Cute as hell. They live in the plains (mid-section of the country - just before the rocky mountains).

They are declining, as most wild life in this world.

Answer 10

They live in the American Southwest. Mostly in southern California, Arizona and New Mexico and Texas. Also in Mexico itself. They live in burrows, underneath the ground to stay cool on the desert.

http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=prarie+dog&fr=yfp-t-501&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8

http://www.defenders.org/wildlife_and_habitat/wildlife/black-tailed_prairie_dog.php