| The Utah prairie dog, extinct in more than 90 percent of its former range, is an endangered species protected by law. It now lives in a small area of southern Utah, between the ranges of Gunnison's prairie dog and the white-tailed prairie dog. Like the other species, it is social, living in colonies, and diurnal, spending its days feeding on grasses and herbs. In a captive colony that was excavated in winter, each prairie dog was found hibernating alone in a fairly deep chamber, 100-200 cm beneath the surface. The animals had plugged the entrance to their hibernating chambers with earth.
Sexual Dimorphism:
Males are larger than females.
Length:
Average:
341 mm males; 319.7 mm females
Range:
299-370 mm males; 290-368 mm females
Weight:
Average:
636 g males; 516 g females
Range:
460-1,250 g males; 410-790 g females
References:
Allen, J.A., 1905. Mammals from Beaver County, Utah. Collected by the museum expedition of 1904, p. 119. Bulletin of the Museum of Science, Brooklyn Institute of the Arts and Science, 1:117-122.
Links:
Mammal Species of the World
Click here for The American Society of Mammalogists species account
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