Second Pup Litters - Fact or Myth?
Prairie dog pups Credit: (Ultimate Prairie Dog Hunting)
Source: Texas Prairie Dog Safaris
Published: Jun. 02, 2011
About The Second Pup Litter
For several years now I have known about the "second litter" of prairie dogs in my home state of Texas. I can only tell you that when you grab up a set of Binoculars on April 15th of nearly every year like clock work, there is your first litter of pups.
Now all the colleges in the world and all the books only tell of a litter of 6~8. Well that's just not so... nor is it even close. Now I can't swear to you guys in the other prairie dog states are having two litters, but I just know we are here in Texas and have been for ages.
The first litter a year here represents about 6~8 pups and the second litter being 7~10 on a dog town that's had a lot of poison thrown on it. (Side Note: Also that's on a year that has ,had plenty of rain)
Please understand nothing is 100% not even the plague. On a Poisoned dog town there is about an 80% kill and let me tell you, the dogs left will either stay and tough it out or go down the road for a few years only to come back. Even on the plague, I have towns in New Mexico that have came back after 5 years,and there were no dogs around for 20 miles.
Prairie Dogs migrate over most of the country in about June of every year. A lot of times when a pair migrate to a new spot, they will have two litters to get their colony made. There has been so much mis~information on the "dog" it's unbelievable!
Fellows it doesn't take long to do the math either,at just 100 females dogs in a town,and that's a small town At two litters per year and more than 1/2 survival rate that's a lot of dog quick.If you get into towns like mine that have 3,500 females do the math.How is the math you say? Well at a dog town with 640 acres and population being figured by the government being 25 dogs per square acres~~AND THAT"S WRONG ,because we aren't having one litter per year,ITS two remember,then over 3/4 of the dogs you see are fact female.Well the math says then that at any given time there are 32,000 dogs,and that represents 24,000 females at 6~10 pups per litter and half will make it.Fellows,there is NO WAY on earth you can shoot out a dog town.
There are towns where the hunters drive on them and do not know they aren't suppose to, that is if they want there dog towns to be active while they are shooting.More on that in another article.
I challenge you to get out there and look on April 15th or so and mid-October on pretty days and see if you have two litters!
Article by: Larry Gene Pate, Texas Prairie Dog Safaris
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Read more or to book a hunt with Larry:
http://www.ultimateprairiedoghunting.com/business/texas-prairie-dog-safaris/
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