As climate warms, prairie dogs are in trouble » Yale Climate Relations

Transcript:

In the Great Plains, black-tailed prairie dogs jump across the grass, dig huge burrows, and live in groups.

Lindsey Sterling Krank of the Humane Society of the United States said prairie dogs are cute and important to the ecosystem.

Many other species rely on them for prey and even live in their burrows.

Sterling Krank: “There are eagles, burrowing owls, black-footed ferrets, even tiger salamanders.”

But the prairie dogs are in trouble.

Much of their habitat has been lost to agriculture, and the southern part of their range has become too dry.

Sterling Krank and her colleagues recently analyzed where suitable prairie dog habitat exists today and how that habitat will change as the climate warms.

Sterling Krank: “Everything south of their range, Texas, Arizona, and a little bit further into Mexico, it's kind of thrown off, and you really see almost Colorado becoming core portion of their range and then shift northward.

Her team used surveys to identify places in the range where people are more likely to support prairie dog conservation.

They then combined the data into an interactive map that wildlife agencies and others can use to prioritize their conservation efforts.

So even as the climate warms, black-tailed prairie dogs have a better chance of thriving.

Report source: Ethan Freedman / ChavoBart Digital Media