Winter Wildlife Photos: Red Squirrel

Continuing my series on Winter Wildlife, here a cute little Red Squirrel which ought to be underground:

Red Squirrel (photo taken in British Columbia)

Advent Calendar - December 29th

I was driving through Wells Gray, British Columbia in December of 1998, primarily looking for Moose, Wolves, and Lynx. I love Wells Gray. There are several waterfalls, which are iced-over in the winter. In September they have an amazing salmon run at Bailey's Chute where the rapids are too steep for the salmon. They try in vain to get over the chute but can't. It is an amazing sight. Wells Gray has an abundance of mammals: black and grizzly bear, wolf, mountain lion, lynx, bobcat, wolverine, moose, deer, mountain goat, caribou, plus a host of smaller mammals such as fisher, marten, mink, weasel, squirrel, etc. The northern half of the park is accessible only by boat and then on foot. We're talking wilderness here. So, my search this particular occasion didn't find Wolves or Lynx. I did find Moose and Deer. But I thought I would share with you another. A Red (or Pine) Squirrel:

Red Squirrel in Wells Gray, British Columbia

Still Squirrels

So, first up today the Gold Mantled Ground Squirrel.  It eats seeds, nuts, berries, insects, and underground fungi. It is preyed upon by hawks, jays, weasels, coyotes, and bobcats. The Golden-mantled ground squirrel can be identified by its chipmunk-like stripes and coloration, but unlike chipmunks, it lacks any facial stripes. 

The golden-mantled ground squirrel is similar to chipmunks in more than just its appearance. It is a traditional hibernator, building up its body fat so to survive the winter asleep, but it is also known to store some food in its burrow, like the chipmunk, for consumption upon waking in the spring.

Both the golden-mantled ground squirrel and the chipmunk have cheek pouches for carrying food. Cheek pouches allow them to transport food back to their nests and still run at full speed on all fours.

Golden-mantled ground squirrels dig shallow burrows up to 100 ft in length with the openings hidden in a hollow log or under tree roots or a boulder. The female gives birth to a single litter of 4–6 young each summer.

The golden-mantled ground squirrel is abundant throughout North America and is at home in a wide variety of forest habitats as well as rocky meadows, and sagebrush flats.

Gold Mantled Ground Squirrel

photo taken on Mount Elden, Arizona (north of Flagstaff)

The Least Chipmunk is the smallest and most widespread chipmunk in North America. It is found in a variety of habitats including mixed deciduous and coniferous forests, boreal forest, and sagebrush plains.

They have three dark lines with white in between along their face and five black stripes with brown edges and white in between along their back. They are grey and reddish-brown on the upperparts and greyish white on their underparts. Their tail is orange-brown.

These animals are active during the day and eat seeds, berries, nuts, fruits and insects. Predators include hawks owls and badgers, otters, weasels, and pine martens.

They breed in early spring. Females produce one litter usually of 5 or 6 young.

They store food in an underground burrow, where they spend the winter. These animals go into a state of torpor for extended periods of time, but do not hibernate.

Least Chipmuk

photo taken in Colorado National Forest

Finally, the Red Squirrel, the smallest of the tree squirrels. It is active all year. It stores food in large caches in the ground or in a hollowed out tree. The red squirrel, like most tree squirrels, has sharp, curved claws to enable it to climb and descend broad tree trunks, thin branches and even house walls. Its strong hind legs enable it to leap gaps between trees.The red squirrel also has the ability to swim.

Red Squirrel

photo taken in British Columbia