 |
|
|
|
|
Prairie dogs are almost exclusively herbivorous and select grasses and grass-like plants over forbs, except for an occasional meal of insects such as cutworms, ground beetles, and short-horned grasshoppers (Kelso 1939, Koford 1958, Summers and Linder 1978). Feeding preferences change with the season. Grasses are their preferred food, making up 70-95 % of their diet, but broad-leafed herbaceous plants (forbs) become more important in the fall when green grass is scarce. Favorite foods of prairie dogs during the summer include western wheatgrass, blue grama, buffalograss, scarlet globemallow, and rabbitbrush. In the winter, favorites include prickly pear cactus, and thistle. Prairie dogs eat seeds and underground roots more in the cold months than in the warm months, again, because of the lack of green grass. Plants that are usually avoided include sagebrush, threeawn, horseweed, diffuse knapweed, and Mediterranean sage (Hygnstrom, et al. 1990). |