162 ANIMAL LIFE IN THE YOSEMITE 



both when out in plain sight and when concealed from view amid the rocks of the talus 

 heap. During the time that this marmot was under observation a Belding Ground 

 Squirrel in the adjacent meadow was uttering its shrill alarm note, and this may have 

 stimulated the Marmot to give its own note. 



The seasonal activity of the Sierra Marmot extends from early spring 

 until autumn. The date of first emergence is not known, as few if any 

 people are in the high country early enough in the year to take note of 

 such phenomena. Our own earliest date, June 28, merely indicates our 

 first day within the range of the species. Breeding must take place early 

 in the spring, as young animals, large enough to appear above ground, 

 were trapped on July 10 (1915). Through the summer season the marmots 

 are out every day, but as autumn draws near they are less in evidence, 

 and soon all of them enter the long winter sleep. Our latest record is of 

 a single individual observed near Ten Lakes on October 11 (1915). In 

 late September but few were to be seen on Tuolumne Meadows where 

 earlier in the year the species was common. 



Little information is available concerning the home life of the marmot. 

 The young are one-fourth to one-half grown by the middle of July and 

 are then to be seen about the entrances of their home burrows. They 

 probably attain sufficient size during the first season of their lives so that 

 they can go forth before winter and dig their own burrows. 



California Ground Squirrel. Citellus beecheyi beecheyi (Richardson) 



Field characters. — Size medium for a squirrel (body length about 10 inches), tail 

 long (about 7 inches) and haired at sides, but not so bushy as in tree squirrels; ear 

 short, not tufted. Measurements: Head and body 9% to 10% inches (232-273 mm.), 

 tail Q^s to 7% inches (161-194 mm.), hind foot 2 to 2% inches (53-60 mm.), ear (from 

 crown) % to 1 inch (21-27 mm.); weight 15% to 25% ounces (443-720 grams). Gen- 

 eral body color dull yellowish brown in effect; triangular area on each side of neck and 

 shoulders, grizzled white; narrow area on fore part of back between whitish shoulder 

 patches, dark brown. Voice: A sharp metallic alarm note or whistle, clink, usually 

 uttered singly at varying intervals, but, when the squirrel is badly frightened, given two 

 or more times in rapid succession. WorJcings: Burrows in ground, entrance holes about 

 4% inches in diameter; also runways, about 3 inches wide, through grass. 



Occurrence. — Eesident on west side of Sierra Nevada from plains of San Joaquin 

 Valley up to middle altitudes in the mountains (highest record, 8200 feet, east of 

 Merced Lake) ; observed on east slope of Sierras, at about 8000 feet altitude in Leevining 

 Creek canon, and locally in vicinity of Mono Lake Post Office. Most abundant on 

 plains and in foothill country (Lower and Upper Sonoran zones), less numerous in the 

 yellow pine belt (Transition Zone), and but sparingly represented in the Jeffrey pine 

 belt (Canadian Zone). Frequents plains, small meadows, tree-covered hillsides, and 

 rocky outcrops or granite taluses; commonest in open situations. 



The California Ground Squirrel is probably known by sight to more 

 residents of California than is any other one species of mammal, and it is 

 also the one which most often excites the interest and attention of visitors 



