Vaccine-Laden Bait Beside a Prairie Dog Burrow

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.

The vaccine is placed in peanut butter-flavored bait (pictured), which is then scattered throughout the test areas for consumption by prairie dogs.