Q & A Page


DO PRAIRIE DOGS DRINK WATER?

Not usually, but they will. In the wild, they get enough moisture from the native grasses and weeds that they normally eat. In Albuquerque during a drought, they will eat cactus to receive their needed moisture and to prevent starvation. Supplemental water is needed in barren areas and during drought conditions.

IS IT OK TO FEED THEM?

If they have native grasses and weeds (even goathead greens) they don't need to be fed. However, if their area is barren of foods native to their diet it is ok to feed them. Grass cuttings and alfalfa are the closest foods to their natural diet. Sweets are not natural for them but they love sunflower seeds, corn on the cob, lettuce, peaches, strawberries, watermelon and apples. They don't like broccoli, zucchini and potatoes.


WHY DO THEY NEED POPULATION CONTROL AND
WHERE DO YOU TAKE THEM?

"City" prairie dogs are trapped in small areas and have no predators other than man and automobiles to maintain their population. Eventually they reach maximum population and must be thinned out on parkland in Albuquerque. They are relocated by our volunteers to Open Space Park Land after the site has been prepared. The ideal time is in June, July or August although they can be relocated in April before the babies are born.


DON'T THEY CARRY THE PLAGUE?

Plague is not carried by prairie dogs but by fleas that can infect all mammals. If a prairie dog is infected by plague carrying fleas, it, and the whole colony, will die. According to the Environmental Health Department, they are not carriers of the Hanta Virus. If prairie dogs are "frisky", they are healthy.


WHAT KIND OF PRAIRIE DOGS LIVE IN ALBUQUERQUE?

Gunnisons or white-tailed which are one of five species of ground squirrels. The Black-tailed prairie dogs are no longer found in the Albuquerque area.


DO PRAIRIE DOGS HIBERNATE?

The Gunnison prairie dogs in Albuquerque do ... Usually
between November and March. Black-tailed prairie dogs do not.


HOW OFTEN DO PRAIRIE DOGS HAVE BABIES?

The usual litter is 3 to 5 pups once a year in May. The babies come above ground in June and begin to eat grasses and weeds instead of nursing. Only about 50% will survive more than 6 months.

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