Prairie Dog Tagging

An anaesthetized prairie dog is tagged in Wind Cave National Park. 

Over 30 organizations and agencies are testing a USGS-developed oral vaccine to prevent the spread of plague in prairie dogs. If successful, the sylvatic plague vaccine could help protect endangered black-footed ferrets in the western U.S. because the ferrets rely on prairie dogs for food. A veterinarian tags each trapped prairie dog and takes hair, whisker, and blood samples before scientists release the animals back into the wild.