Ground Squirrels: a .Couple of Cute Little Critters

On a warm day in mid summer, I hiked up Fern Lake Trail in Rocky Mountain National Park. This is a lovely place to hike, for the trail runs through pine forest and parallels the upper reaches of the Big Thompson River much of the way. It was hot and dusty that day, however, and I was happy to stop and rest when I reached a spot called The Pool, where Spruce Creek joins the Big Thompson. The river has cut down through the rocks at least 10 feet here, and I found a flat rock above the water where I sat down, stretched out my legs and got my water flask out for a drink.

From my fanny pack, I got a handful of gorp (walnuts, raisins, and M&Ms) to munch on. I left the fanny pack behind me on the rock. In a few minutes, I felt a little movement back there and turned my head to look. A Golden-mantled ground squirrel was just pulling it's head out of the fanny pack and it held a walnut in it's teeth. Ignoring me totally, it scurried up along my outstretched leg and sat on it's haunches almost touching my boot. Then it proceeded leisurely to enjoy the nut. It isn't legal to feed the wildlife in the Park, but I did enjoy watching this cute little thief enjoy it's snack. As soon as it finished, I moved my foot and scared it off a little way, then zipped up my fanny pack. While I sat there, it kept coming back, hopefully searching for another nut.

The squirrel family (Sciuridae) includes several kinds of squirrels (tree, ground, antelope, and flying), as well as, chipmunks, prairie dogs, and marmots. The ground squirrels (genus Spermophilus) live in burrows in the ground. Most of the 19 different species in North America live west of the Mississippi and at least six species live in Colorado. Most of them hibernate in winter and store fat to live on through the winter months.

The Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus lateralis) lives in forests, usually in the mountains, sometimes in sagebrush country or rocky meadows. It is a small mammal, about 9-12 inches long (not counting the 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 inch tail) and weighs between 6 and 10 ounces. It's back is gray, brown, or buff with a light stripe bordered by black stripes on each side. It's belly is pale buff or white. On the neck and shoulders is a "mantle" of gold or copper color. These ground squirrels live alone and dig long, shallow burrows (up to 100 feet long). They prefer to hide the entrance under a big rock, tree root, or log. In early summer, a female may have a litter of four to six young.

Go To Page: 1 2 3

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic