SQUIRREL FAMILY 



189 



to timberline. Although it likes the neighbor- 

 hood of trees and shrubs, it is not a tree-climber ; 

 in fact it is rarely seen higher than the top of 

 a stump. 



Its favorite home is in crevices in the rocks, 

 and in burrows which it digs. Seeds and acorns 

 furnish most of its food, but it has been known 

 to eat young birds and Meadow Mice. Around 

 camps and houses it eats crumbs and almost any 

 refuse. It tames very quickly, and will eat from 

 a person's hand, climb up his clothing and into 

 his pockets in search of food, much after the 



Hibernation takes place in October and lasts 

 until .\pril. Sometimes the animal will burrow 

 through deep snow to get to the surface. 



Cheek pouches are greatly developed. Mr. E. 

 R. Warren states that he has taken twenty-seven 

 acorns of the scrub oak from the pouches of one 

 individual. \Mien fed liberally they will put 

 nut after nut into their pouches until it seemed 

 as if they must surely burst. The pouch con- 

 tents are quickly carried away and hidden, and 

 back the animals come for more. Sometimes 

 they are so numerous about the person feeding 



SAY'S SPERMOPHILE 

 A well-known Ground Squirrel of the Colorado Mountains, that is often a nuisance to settlers and campers 



same fashion of our dray Squirrels. In Yellow- 

 stone National Park, it is abundant about camp 

 sites where it eats waste grain left by the horses. 



Where there are buildings this Ground Squir- 

 rel becomes so common as to be a nuisance, as 

 it makes its home nearby or in the buildings and 

 attacks everything edible. 



Four to six yovmg are born in the spring or 

 early summer. Until fairly mature they lack 

 the rich cinnamon-brown of the throat and 

 breast of the adult. This is true of the Wyoming 

 species. The more southern species never attains 

 the rich colorings of the northern. 



them, that there is danger of treading u])on them. 

 Some get so fat, through getting so nuich food 

 for so little work, that they can hardly waddle. 

 In the sandy yellow pine country this Spermo- 

 phile so constantly utilizes the tunnels of the 

 Mountain Pocket Gopher, that it is continually 

 getting into traps set for Gophers. It is fond of 

 sunning itself in exposed situations during the 

 warmer part of the day, and may often be seen 

 sitting upright and motionless on a point of 

 rock, tree stump, or ridge pole of a cabin. The 

 animals are rarely observed on cloudy days, and 

 they do not come out so early in the morning as 



