Squirrel | Red Hunt Travel

I’m a fan of squirrels. They, like raccoons, have been able to adapt to so many different landscapes and environments. These Uinta Ground Squirrels find their homes pretty much anywhere with open fields and grass lands. While this guy was photographed in Yellowstone National Park, they go as far south as Utah, but prefer the Rocky Mountain states.

This one was one of many scurrying around part of the park, as they tend to live in groups, or colonies. While I’m used to seeing tree squirrels skipping their hibernating plans and being around almost all year in Canada, these ground squirrels tend to only be active for about 4 months of the year. They aestivate in summer and hibernate in winter…guess they’re not fans of extreme temperatures!

At first glance you might wonder if this is a squirrel or chipmunk, but despite it’s odd squirrel behaviour, the Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel is, as the name implies, not a chipmunk.

These little ground squirrels do act very much like a chipmunk however. They’re known to store a stash of food in their burrows to eat when they wake up after hibernating for winter, something more common to chipmunks. They also have a striped back, which confuses many people into thinking they must be a chipmunk.

Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel - Stripes — The striped back of the Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel

The best way to tell this is a Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel is to notice that the stripes on the back do not appear on the cheeks and face of the animal. Chipmunks, on the other hand, will commonly have their stripes extend up to their eyes, nose and cheeks.

This Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel was photographed in Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah.

travel writer. wildlife photographer. beer geek.

Red Hunt Travel

Tag Archives: Squirrel

Wildlife Photo: Uinta Ground Squirrel

Wildlife Photos: Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel

travel writer. wildlife photographer. beer geek.