Some prairie dogs in Pueblo County found some tasty treats waiting for them on Thursday — bite-sized snacks that might also save their lives.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife sent biologists to a ranch in Pueblo County to distribute little peanut butter pellets laced with plague vaccine.
The plague is still around in the western U.S. and is carried mostly by rodents. According to the CDC, a few human cases develop each year following exposure to infected wild rodents or fleas.
Hence the blueberry-sized pellets.
CPW says the pellets are intended to be eaten by black-tailed prairie dogs and other small mammals. Prarie dogs, CPW says, are “so important to our ecosystem.” They create habitat for other species, such as endangered black-footed ferrets and burrowing owls, and are critical to the diets of many animals, including ferrets, raptors, coyotes, bobcats and rattlesnakes.
After two days on the ranch, CPW says it’s sending its team to Holly, in eastern Colorado, to spread more of tasty peanut butter pellets.