Andreas Miller, age 10, of South River, N.J. for hs question:

What do prairie dogs eat?

We feed a pet dog a diet of meat and vegetables, though chances are he would just as soon skip the vegetables. Wolves, foxes and other wild dogs eat only meat. The prairie dog is a vegetarian. He may eat a grasshopper now and then, but he could not live on a meat diet if he tried. This is one reason why we know that the prairie dog is not really a dog at all.

The prairie dog is a city dweller and his home is just a short way from a huge supermarket which he shares with his neighbors. This animal supermarket is stuffed with all the items necessary for a balanced, prairie dog diet, plus a few delicacies and desserts.

In some ways, animals have more sense than people. The prairie dog, for example, enjoys a balanced diet of items that are just right for prairie dogs and he does not hanker after foods that are not good for his health.

The furry charmer wakes up at dawn and after a little primping is soon on his way to market. As he comes out of his burrow, breakfast is there spread out before him as far as he can see, Maybe a host of neighbors are already sitting down to dine, Our hungry prairie dog will choose himself a salad from the prairie plants.

Prairie grasses are tough, but this does not bother the hungry fellow. He is a member of the rodent family of animals and he has the big, gnawing buck teeth to prove it. Later he may find a few young, tender shoots to add a little flavor to his diet. If the grass and weeds have been chewed to the ground, the prairie dog will dig down and dine on their juicy roots.

Sometimes the prairie is attacked by a plague of locusts.

The insects arrive like a dark cloud of destruction and gobble up every green leaf in sight. Flocks of birds and other animals swoop in to feed on the invaders and sometimes the prairie dog will join in the battle.  He will eat some of the locusts that are eating the plants in his supermarket. But he does not often eat meat, even a small morsel such as a grasshopper. For one thing, he does not have the right kind of chomping and grinding teeth an animal needs to be a meat eater.

The cute prairie dog is cousin to the lazy woodchuck and the busy beaver. He is a ground squirrel and though he does not have a big bushy tail, he is just as charming as his cousins, the tree squirrels. He is a chubby fellow, about a foot long plus a furry, three inch tail. His home is a deep burrow and he shares his prairie dog town with hundreds of other home owners.