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Callospermophilus lateralis
Similar to a Chipmunk in stripes and appearance but it was slightly larger and no facial stripes and the face was not narrow. Very curious animal. This still has the shorter rounded tail of a Chipmunk and Black and white stripes along it's flanks. Golden brown color with grey/silver underbelly.
Same as most Chipmunks and ground squirrels. Forests, open areas and areas where people are near picnic and campgrounds.
My first impression was that this was a Chipmunk. But I just couldn't find a species with no stripes across the face in the location I was at. Then I thought maybe not a Chipmunk but a squirrel. I finally got it. Spotted this one at Convict Lake near Mammoth Lakes.
Spotted on Aug 26, 2009
Submitted on Jun 13, 2012
2 Comments
Think these were spotting me more. This was in Eastern Sierra Nevadas at Convict Lake near Mammoth lakes. Thought they were chipmunks and wondered why I couldn't find one that didn't have striped face.
You got it right! Definetly a golden mantle. When I was a kid in the mid 50s in Central Oregon, my dad used to catch a few of these & we made pets of them. Not a cool thing to do these days, but back then, there were so many of them in our area that no one thought anything of it! They were actually quite easy to tame & a lot of fun for a bunch of kids!