Columbian ground squirrel - are they marmots?


 Squirrels are a huge group of rodents divided into 14 different genera in North America.  These include the tree squirrels, the ground squirrels, and the flying squirrels.   Ground squirrels have 8 of those genera and can be divided into chipmunks, prairie dogs, and marmots.  

I took the above photos while visiting John's Family Conservatory a few days ago.  The Columbian ground squirrel, sometimes called the Louisiana marmot, is a different species from the golden-mantled ground squirrel.  The former are larger and tend to live in less mountainous regions.  

I saw quite a few of these marmots/ground squirrels on my walk in John's Family Conservatory in Kelowna.  They live throughout the region; I often see them while walking along the banks of Mission Creek in town.  They are only ever seen in warmer months as they hibernate throughout the cooler ones.  I saw my first one of the year only last week.  In the spring they are quite thin, as you can tell in the above photo (right).  They will fatten up a lot over summer in preparing for their long hibernation.

Another ground squirrel I saw while on my aforementioned walk was a Least chipmunk.  Although related to the Columbian ground squirrels, they are much smaller.  Most chipmunks live underground but will climb trees in search of food or safety.  There is a photo below that I took.

Least chipmunk photographed near the Columbian ground squirrels at John's Family Conservatory.

Thanks for reading.  Hopefully, you learned something about marmots and ground squirrels today.  I did.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com


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