Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrels: From Nuts to Naps in National Parks
If you ever happen to visit Crater Lake National Park you will most likely spy these charming chipmunk-like squirrels, because they’re the most sighted animal in the park.
These squirrels’ head and shoulders are golden-red, giving them there name. Determining the male from the female might be tricky, but one way that distinguishes the guys from the girls is that their mantle is a brighter red. Surprisingly, the guy squirrels contain more smarts than the girls, because their brain is substantially larger than the girls.
Among various habitats these squirrels can be found, including: forests, meadows, and rocky slopes. Keep an eye out for them at more national parks including: Bryce Canyon, Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain, and Lassen Volcanic & Mount Rainier.
These squirrels also appreciate a varied diet. They will feast on: nuts, insects, eggs, young birds, lizards, dead animals, people food (when available), and other edibles. However, you’re better than that park ranger. Just because these squirrels enjoy people food doesn’t mean it’s beneficial for them, so keep the animals wild and avoid feeding the squirrels.
When they do find some food, like other squirrels, these squirrels are blessed with cheek pouches, which are, like miniature baskets, hidden in their cheeks, to carry their food to a place nearby their burrow, where they can cache their food for easy access to their food during the winter.
The squirrels den is typically located by a tree or log. These cute fellas don’t dig their burrows very deep but, however, they can be as long as 100 feet, which is about the length of a Blue Whale – the largest animal on earth!
Like bears, these squirrels retire for the winter to their den to hibernate. The males are the first ones to emerge from their burrow from hibernation.
Then it’s a showdown for competing for territory among all the males. A few weeks later, the female squirrels emerge. Although it may seem strange, the male Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrels are polygamous, meaning that they mate with multiple females. The male squirrel will mate with several females that are in his territory.
The female squirrel will produce about four to six baby squirrels in her litter. Fun fact; a baby squirrel is called a kit or a kitten.
The Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel can live up to about seven years in the wild and only five years in captivity.
These squirrels also preform a strange habit when it comes to hygiene. They take dirt baths. They roll in the dirt and groom themselves with their teeth and their claws.
Along with many of the other vast array of wildlife at this national park make sure to keep an eye out for the Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel park explorers! They should be easy to spot!
