Prairie dogs (genus
Cynomys) are mostly
herbivorous burrowing
rodents native to the
grasslands of
North America. The five species are:
black-tailed,
white-tailed,
Gunnison's,
Utah, and
Mexican prairie dogs. They are a type of
ground squirrel, found in the
United States,
Canada and
Mexico. In Mexico, prairie dogs are found primarily in the northern states, which lie at the southern end of the Great Plains: northeastern
Sonora, north and northeastern
Chihuahua, northern
Coahuila, northern
Nuevo León, and northern
Tamaulipas. In the United States, they range primarily to the west of the
Mississippi River, though they have also been introduced in a few eastern locales.
