Mammal
Black-tailed Prairie Dog
Cynomys ludovicianus
Photo: Joe Ravi, CC BY-SA 3.0
Common Names
Barking Squirrel / Petit Chien
Habitat
The Tower
Conservation
Apparently secure
First Observed
1804-09-07
Observed At
Boyd County, Nebraska, near the Niobrara River
Efforts to extract first prairie dogs from tunnels engaged Corps most of a day. Two captured later sent to Jefferson.
Recent sightings
Where it’s being seen today
36 research-grade iNaturalist observations between 1989–2025. Most recent: 2025-10-11. Sourced from Terrain360 trail captures, cached locally.
Journal References
2 journal entries mention Black-tailed Prairie Dog
Sep
7
1804
First Encounter with a Prairie Dog Village
The expedition encountered their first black-tailed prairie dog town near present-day Boyd County, Nebraska. The men spent considerable time trying to capture one ...
Sep
18
1806
Missouri River through Kansas-Missouri area — Patrick Gass: September 18, 1806
took our leave of him and proceeded on. In a short time, passed the mouth of the river Grand, and soon after over- took the...
