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Project Noah Nature School
Spermophilus beecheyi
California ground squirrels utilize cheek pouches while they are foraging to collect more food than would otherwise be possible in one sitting. Like gray squirrels, they cache or store food for future use. California ground squirrels use a variety of sounds, tail signals and scent production as means of communication. The belt out a high-pitched alarm call when they feel threatened. The calling can last for several minutes. California ground squirrels reside on the ground and in burrow systems. The burrows can house many generations forming a small colony, and each individual has an entrance of their own. Males are often territorial. The ground squirrels tend to stay within 150 yards of their burrow system and usually retreat to their entrance for safety.
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Spotted on Aug 9, 2013
Submitted on Aug 9, 2013
6 Comments
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How cute :) Love them!!! LOVE the first pic here!
Thanks Surekha.These are often mistaken for prairie dogs because of the standing posture ,especially when they are alerting the community with an alarm call.
Marta,this one is smaller because it is a baby. A very common sight in California. They dig intricate tunnel systems.
These can be very big in size,particularly if they are well fed. Food is abundant here. So they can be bigger than the Grey Squirrels in size.
Fantastic shots!
Nice! I did not know about this sort of gound squirrels..I would have confused it with a grey squirrel. Are they smaller? :-)