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| Thirteen-lined ground squirrel |
The thirteen-lined ground squirrel is one of my favourite squirrels,
although I have seen it on only two occasions. It is beautifully marked, and is well camouflaged among the
vegetation of the short grass prairie where it resides. I was able to photograph this squirrel
in a rest area in southern Wyoming where a colony had established and was
taking advantage of the well-watered grass and occasional titbits from passing
travellers. My other sighting was
a more distant view on the prairie of the Pawnie Grasslands in Eastern
Colorado.
Thirteen-lined ground squirrels feed on grasshoppers as well as on grass
and seeds, are active during summer, and like many squirrels, hibernate through
winter. They are very wary of
predators, as although their spotted coats generally provides good camouflage,
on the open prairie they are vulnerable to coyotes and birds of prey. So as not to give away the location of
their burrows, the squirrels carry away the excavated soil in their mouths rather
than leaving a pile of dirt by the entrance. They also tamp down grass and soil into the entrance to help
conceal it.
