Is disease a threat to the continued existence of the black-tailed prairie dog?
Although plague is likely the most important factor adversely influencing black-tailed prairie dogs, recent information indicates the populations are not as vulnerable to the disease as previously thought. Plague is an exotic disease foreign to the evolutionary history of North American species. Based on observations at numerous large colonies or complexes, in the 12-month finding the Service presumed that smaller black-tailed prairie dog populations had been and would be similarly or more adversely impacted. An approximate 50 percent decline per decade was predicted for the foreseeable future. Much better information is now available. Given recent population estimates across a majority of the species range, it appears the previously hypothesized projections were invalid. While occupied habitat at specific large complexes may experience dramatic fluctuations due to plague, these fluctuations do not appear to be influencing the species range-wide persistence. Recent data also indicate t
