Mexican Prairie Dog - Cynomys mexicanus Merriam, 1892.

IUCN STATUS CATEGORY Endangered

HABITAT Confined to valleys, prairies and intermontane basins from 1,600 to 2,200m above sea level. These flat areas are covered with herbs and grasses and usually surrounded by mature desert vegetation. Preferred habitats are those with deep, rock free soils, and such habitats have a patchy distribution.

GEOGRAPHICAL SPREAD Distributed in south-eastern Coahuila, adjacent parts of Nuevo Leon, San Luis Potosi and south to the north-eastern corner of Zacatecas, Mexico.

CURRENT POPULATION Unknown, but habitat loss suggests that they are almost certainly declining.

SIZE Total length about 39cm. Tail 9cm.

WEIGHT Males 1.2kg. Females 0.9kg.

AVERAGE LIFE EXPECTANCY Unknown.

NORMAL DIET Herbs and grasses.

NORMAL LIFESTYLE Prairie Dogs live in colonies (towns) which may contain hundreds of animals. Although many colonies now consist of 50 or less individuals, this depends greatly on habitat availability. A strictly diurnal species, with activity stopping at about 3.00pm during the summer. The Mexican Prairie Dog is active throughout the year. There is generally a single dominant male. Females produce only one litter averaging four young annually.

PREVIOUS GEOGRAPHICAL SPREAD As present but less patchily distributed.

REASONS FOR DECLINE The former range has been reduced, mainly because of agriculture and cattle-raising activities; many colonies have been exterminated by poisoning because the animals are considered agricultural pests.

CURRENT THREATS Same as the reasons for decline.

CONSERVATION PROJECTS Mexican law forbids the killing of this species at all times. An area of suitable habitat containing a viable population should be set aside to assure its survival. Ranchers should be informed of the rarity of the species and encouraged to preserve some 'towns' on their grazing lands (IUCN, 1972).

SPECIAL FEATURES Spotted Ground Squirrels Spermophilus spilosoma and Burrowing Owls Speotyto cunicularia often share the prairie dog burrows.

REFERENCES

Ceballos-G, G. & Wilson, D.E. 1985. Cynomys mexicanus. Mammalian Species. 48: 1-3.

IUCN Red Data Book 1972. Vol.1. Mammalia. Sheet Code: 10.61.30.1. Morges, Switzerland.

Treviņo-Villarreal, J. 1990. The Annual Cycle of the Mexican Prairie Dog (Cynomys mexicanus). Occasional Papers of the Museum of Natural History, The University of Kansas. 139: 1-27.

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