Belding's Ground Squirrels

Summer in the high Sierra is rapidly coming to an end.  Nighttime temperatures are already dipping below freezing, and daytime highs remain in the sixties (Fahrenheit) or lower.  The seasons are changing, grading gently from summer into autumn, and Sierra Nevadan wildlife are busily preparing for the long winter ahead.  On a recent visit to Yosemite's Tuolumne Meadows, the Belding's ground squirrels (Urocitellus beldingi, syn. of Spermophilus beldingi) were particularly busy.
 

Belding's ground squirrels live in high meadows between 6,500 and nearly 12,000 feet in elevation.  Other open areas favored by Belding's ground squirrels include sagebrush flats and areas of mixed shrubs and grasses.  In addition to the Sierra Nevada, Belding's ground squirrels can be found in eastern Oregon, southwestern Idaho, and parts of Nevada.  They typically remain fairly close to a source of water.


Belding's ground squirrels eat a variety of grasses, herbaceous meadow plants, seeds and occasionally insects or carrion.  The common sight of these squirrels standing or seated upright in open areas has earned them the nickname "picket pins," since their upright forms resemble the pins that were used to picket horses in meadows.  This posture serves as the squirrel's defense, giving them a better vantage point from which to watch for predators.  Their alarm call is a familiar sound to alpine hikers.  Natural predators of the Belding's ground squirrel include coyotes, badgers, weasels and raptors.


Belding's ground squirrels spend nearly three-fourths of their lives hibernating in underground burrows.  Hibernation begins in September at the end of the short, high-elevation summer, and continues through May or June.  Generally, juvenile squirrels remain active longer into the summer than adults, eating as much as they can in preparation for hibernation.  During their first winter, up to 60% of juveniles may starve.  Belding's ground squirrels do not store food for use during the winter.

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