Wildlife
Gunnison's prairie dogs are burrowing ground squirrels found in the valleys and plateaus of the Rocky Mountains. Their sophisticated calls and dog-like barks can distinguish between their many predators. They are also specific to a species, with different populations having local dialects. Compared to other prairie dogs Gunnison's have shorter tails and, although you can't see it, they only have 40 chromosomes - all the others have 50. Their colonies are small for prairie dogs and the least socially structured.
Scientific name: Cynomys gunnisoni
Rank: Species
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Communicating danger
Prairie dogs speak differently but have common words.
Prairie dogs speak differently but have common words.
Danger badger!
Prairie dogs communicate to each other what type of predator they can see.
Prairie dogs communicate to each other what type of predator they can see.
Zoo communication
Zoo bred prairie dogs have lost their language of predators and alarm calls.
Zoo bred prairie dogs have lost their language of predators and alarm calls.
Alarm response
Researchers test if prairie dogs can tell what type of predator is about just by hearing an alarm calls.
Researchers test if prairie dogs can tell what type of predator is about just by hearing an alarm calls.
Species range provided by WWF's Wildfinder.
The Gunnison's prairie dog can be found in a number of locations including: North America. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.
The following habitats are found across the Gunnison's prairie dog distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.
Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.
Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web
Least Concern
Population trend: Decreasing
Year assessed: 2008
Classified by: IUCN 3.1
Gunnison's prairie dog (Cynomys gunnisoni) is one of five species of the prairie dog. This species belongs to the squirrel family of rodents, and are predominantly related to the North American and Eurasian ground squirrels. Gunnison’s prairie dogs are primarily distributed in the Four Corners region of the United States.
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Helpless young
Learning
Language
Predation defence
Colonial
Co-operative breeding
Hierarchical
Burrower
Acoustic communication
Herbivorous
Hibernation
Polygynandrous
Polygynous
Social
Territorial