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Monday, June 21, 2010

Columbian Ground Squirrel (Urocitellus columbianus)

Here's another member of the local wildlife set here in the Similkameen Valley. This is a Columbian Ground Squirrel (Urocitellus columbianus), photographed in a small river valley that empties into the Similkameen River, called the Ashnola. These little ground squirrels are quite commonly seen keeping watch along the roadsides and whistling warnings to other nearby squirrels of anything unusual or dangerous.

4 comments:

Janet said...

Such a great closeup!

Dean Lewis said...

Cute gaffer. They can be tame, enough to eat out of your hand. Can really see the relation with marmots which also whistle. Had a good look last week at the lone wayward resident marmot on the Empress grounds (Roger). Very similiar colour and markings as this guy, only bigger.

Kunal Bhatia said...

Sweet little fellow there. Nice capture.

- Mindless Mumbai

JoJo said...

What a cutie!! I love fuzzy little animals. At Lake Tahoe, there are signs everywhere warning people not to get too close to the squirrels b/c they carry the plague!