Saturday, March 28, 2009

Camera Critters--Thirteen-Lined Ground Squirrel

Awhile back I paid a visit to the used book store and among several other books that I came home with was the Kenn Kaufmann book on Mammals. I've had a lot of fun going through it and finding out interesting factoids.

I took this picture of a thirteen-lined ground squirrel a couple of weeks ago.


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There are 21 species of ground squirrels in the United States, with most of them are in the central and western regions of the U.S. The thirteen-lined are found in the central part of the U.S. and originally were a resident of short grass prairies. They have adapted and are now also found in places where the grass is mowed such as parks, golf courses, etc. They construct burrow systems where they will store food to feed on during bad weather. They hibernate from fall to spring.

I took this photo a couple of years ago and it's always been kind of a favorite


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Head on over to Camera Critters to see more critters (by clicking on the icon)


Camera Critters

12 comments:

Teena in Toronto said...

We just seem to have black squirrels around here.

I played too :)

Dirkjogt said...

Great captured! And I love the second one.

Carletta said...

So cute! That second one looks like he's standing guard.

My post is here: Carletta’s Captures.

Adrienne Zwart said...

Very interesting markings. I've never seen this variety before.

Unknown said...

They are so cute!Ya gotta love the antics of squirrels!

Misty DawnS said...

WOW!!! I LOVE BOTH of these photos! I can see why that second one is a favorite - it's absolutely fantastic - I LOVE how you can see his leg through the ice. AWESOME - ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!!!

b13 said...

That little feller/gal is simply adorable!

~gail~mooselovingmamabear said...

Beautiful shot; we just have grey, brown, black squirrels here. This one almost looks like a chipmunk or prairie dog... Thanks for sharing...

Dianne said...

I never knew there were that many different kinds

Diane AZ said...

Beautiful pictures, I love those markings on the thirteen-lined ground squirrel. Where I live, we have round-tailed ground squirrels with plain tan coats.

Vanessa Bates said...

They almost look like prarie dogs. They are so adorable!

Glennis said...

Ground Squirrel, does it then live on the ground rather than up trees?
Lovely photo, it does have lots of lines on its back, a very pretty fellow.