Mexican prairie dog

Mexican prairie dog (cynomys mexicanus)

The Mexican prairie dog is found in the states of Coahuila and San Luis Potosi; it once also lived in the states of Nuevo Leon and Zacatecas.

The Mexican prairie dog is losing habitat to the expansion of agriculture and livestock farming. Many colonies have been exterminated through poisoning.

This species is listed as Endangered (Very high risk of extinction in the wild) given that its extent of occurrence is less than 600 km², its distribution is highly fragmented, and there is continuing decline in its extent of occurrence, area of occupancy, extent and quality of its habitat, and number of locations and subpopulations.

This little mammal has been suffering because it is considered a plague for farmers so they kill them by poisoning , also they are killed by our pollution. In the red list this animal is considered in very high risk of extinction.

We need to teach people that this animal doesn’t represent a plague and doesn´t hurt the crops, so they stop killing them. Also we need to raise them in captivity in order to preserve specie.

They are herbivorous and eat mainly grass, seeds and weeds, also they eat insects. Because of their diet Mexican Prairie dogs help to maintain the composition of soil and grasslands.

This species has lost at least 65% of its habitat, because it has been converted for agriculture and other uses. It is considered extinct in Zacatecas, which represented 10% of its original range. San Luis Potosi, representing 25% of its original range, has also been heavily converted to agriculture, and the extraction of water has dried up soils and grasslands.

My conclusion is that Mexican prairie dog isn’t a problem for us we are the problem for them because we kill them by polluting and by other many reasons. We don’t have to kill them because they don’t do anything bad to us and they are harmless. So have empathy and see as they see the world and think how they feel when there are killed by not doing nothing. We have to protect them!

Pedro Ortiz –Monasterio