How many litters a year do prairie dogs have?
In AZ the season (this year) runs from June 16, 07 to March 31, 08. Then there is that 2 1/2 month break supposedly for birthing and raising. But it seems that they have more than one litter a year.
Prairie dog birth rate?
-
Arizona Hunter
- Senior Member
- Posts: 137
- Joined: Fri May 11, 2007 9:03 am
- Location: Phoenix, AZ
-
Hotshot
- Senior Member
- Posts: 809
- Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2007 2:32 pm
- .204 Ruger Guns: Savage and ar-15
- Location: Rapid City
- Contact:
Re: Prairie dog birth rate?
Biologists I've talked to are convinced they have only one litter per year. Google prairie dogs and that info also says one. I think if conditions are good more are born or more suvive or both. If the environment is bad in a given year fewer are born and so fewer survive.
-
Singleshot
- Junior Member
- Posts: 58
- Joined: Tue Oct 31, 2006 6:32 pm
- Location: Alberta, Canada
Re: Prairie dog birth rate?
Black-tailed prairie dogs are monoestrous which means they only have one litter a year. All females may not be bred at the same time however so the breeding season may last for a month or more. There is also some evidence in ground squirrels that if the female is not initially fertilized or the first litter is killed shortly after they are born, the female may come into estrus again and have another litter later on. I suppose the same is possible in prarie dogs. Young prairie dogs can hang around the nest burrow for up to 10 weeks before they disperse to find their own burrows so you may be seeing that on into August.