184 



MAMMALS OF AMERICA 



and the Picket-pin Gopher. It prefers a more 

 wooded country than the former, and a less ele- 

 vated region than the latter. It likes a brushy, 

 rough territory, with a few trees here and there. 

 In fact, this animal seems to occupy the same 

 position in the Rocky Mountains that the Picket- 

 pin Gopher does in the prairie country. 



Photograph by W. P. Dandu 



HARRIS ANTELOPE GROUND SQUIRREL 

 An inhabitant of the southwest 



The burrow is similar to that of the Striped 

 Spermophile, but is likely to be dug into the 

 side of a brush-covered bank, and it is farther 

 below the surface. 



After hibernating, this animal appears later in 

 the spring than other species of the same region. 

 About May first is the time it is first to be 

 seen. Mating soon begins, and the four to seven 

 young are born about a month later. 



Although not so fiercely carnivorous as the 

 striped form, the Bushy-tailed Spermophile will 

 eat flesh whenever it can find it. Vegetable 

 matter, however, furnishes its main food supjily. 

 Unlike some other species, it requires a supply 

 of water to drink. Some Ground Squirrels live 

 in arid wastes and seem to get enough moisture 

 from their food. 



In early October, the " Scrub-Go]>her " makes 

 itself safe against unfavorable weather and ene- 

 mies by plugging up the various entrances to its 

 home with earth, and enters into its night of six 

 months. 



]\Ierritt Gary, who recently made an extended 

 study of these animals in the West, says': 

 " Rock Squirrels nearly always live in rocky 

 moimtains, the ledged and boulder-strewn 

 sides of canyons, the bare rocky slopes along 

 the base of the foothills, and the rim rock of 

 outlying mesas and buttes being especially fre- 

 quented. In the pinyon country their burrows 

 are often found along the margins of fields in 

 a nearly level country. As a rule, however, the 

 burrows are located beneath boulders at the base 

 of a rocky canyon rim or in rock slides. Rock 

 Squirrels are quite shy and wary, and when one 

 is surprised in the bottom of a canyon, as is 

 often the case, it invariably runs up the slope 

 and takes refuge among the rocks above. If the 

 observer remains perfectly quiet, he may at 

 length detect the animal peering silently over the 

 top of a large boulder, but it generally vanishes 

 at the slightest noise or motion. I watched one 

 of these Sqtiirrels dusting itself near Bayfield. 

 Apparently it was unaware of my presence and 

 at intervals would run to a dusty spot in a path, 

 throw the dust up with its fore feet, turn on its 

 back, and wriggle and squirm along the ground 

 in the greatest enjoyment. This performance was 

 repeated a number of times when suddenly the 

 little fellow spied me and raced oti' through the 

 brush. 



" While at Ashbaugh's ranch in June. I often 

 heard the sharp alarm notes of Rock Squirrels 

 in the orchard back of the house. Near Coventry 

 in July they were feeding extensively upon pin- 

 yon nuts. In Grand \'alley, near Glenwood 

 Springs, in October, numbers were seen in the 

 tops of large pinyons busily feasting upon the 

 nuts, and so common is this habit in that section 

 that the animals are locally known as gray tree 

 Squirrels. 



" The food of Rock Squirrels consists of pin- 

 yon nuts, acorns, and juniper berries, and conse- 

 quently over much of their range the animals do 

 little damage. In some sections, however, they 

 are reputed to show a fondness for yotmg 

 chickens. They destroy many apricots on the 

 trees for the sake of the seeds, of which they are 

 especially fond ; they eat holes in cantcloupes 

 and watermelons on the vines in search of the 

 seeds, which they carry into the rocks to 'be 

 eaten at leisure: and they also dig up and eat 

 much newly planted corn." 



