Black Tailed Prairie Dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) 

The Black-Tailed Prairie Dog

by Alice Delaney

The black-tailed prairie dog is a Texan known far & wide,

Who burrows under short grass where it does abide.

Their tunnels can lead every which way,

But under the ground these tunnels do stay.

And in 1900 a prairie dog town

Spread 350 miles was found!

With close to 400 million these critters did abound,

Making it, truly, the largest town ever found!

These critters aren’t nocturnal but at day come alive,

While in the night prairie dogs sleep & hide.

Not only that, but we have come to see,

The prairie dog’s intelligence helps it to flee.

With different “barks” for its different predators,

It warns its kinfolk of upcoming danger.

Down the line the signal is passed,

Till everyone knows where the bad guy was last!

So you can see why this Texan ranks high,

As one of the most intelligent animals under the sky!