646 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



they overlap, or, indeed, as far as known, quite meet. Roughly, the 

 Douglas Ground Squirrel occupies the northern and northwestern third 

 of the state. 



The local or habitat preference of this species is more exclusively 

 for hilly country than in the case of the California Ground Squirrel. 

 It is true that the Douglas exists out on the floor of the Sacramento 

 Valley nearly to the lands annually flooded along the river; but it 

 occurs there interruptedly, in far separated "colonies," and never any- 

 where are the great numbers reached that characterize heecheyi in the 

 San Joaquin Valley. The preferred haunts of douglasii are the open- 

 ings or glades on hillsides, beneath scattered oaks or pines, or else the 

 open tracts along stream courses, not, however, quite down to the 

 water's edge. The edges of the smaller valleys between the coast ranges 

 are well populated, but the open floors of these valleys are not often 

 invaded very far or in any considerable numbers. Dense chaparral 

 and thick woods are avoided altogether. 



It is interesting to note here that where the coast redwoods have been 

 lumbered out the Douglas Ground Squirrels have come in from the 

 interior so as to be plentiful where formerly scarce or wanting. Chapar- 

 ral slopes which have been swept by flre are also quickly invaded and 

 occupied for a time, until the brush grows up thickly again. It is 

 probable that the squirrels are unable to maintain themselves against 

 enemies, such as bobcats, that habitually hunt by stealth through under- 

 brush ; the squirrels require a certain amount of space around them so 

 that they can have a fair show of reaching the safety of their burrows 

 after an enemy is first caught sight of. Even though the Douglas 

 Ground Squirrels are nowhere so very numerous as compared with 

 certain other rodents, their predilection for clearings brings them into 

 economic prominence locally. We have been told repeatedly of cases 

 where newly cleared farms in mountain valleys have been invaded at 

 harvest time from the nearby hillsides, to the almost complete loss 

 of the crops. 



It is a curious thing that the Douglas Ground Squirrel should not 

 occur south clear to the shores of San Francisco Bay, inasmuch as the 

 Beechey on the south side of the bay extends up to either the very 

 shore line itself or to the margin of the salt marshes adjacent, or did so 

 until very recent years This may be merely another indication of the 

 lesser degree of aggressiveness or prolificness on the part of the Doug- 

 las Squirrel. Marin County seems to be devoid of any ground squirrels 

 whatsoever, except for a few douglasii along the Sonoma County bor- 

 der. Joseph Mailliard (interviewed on May 8, 1918) states that in his 

 forty years or more of residence in Marin County, he never saw any 

 ground squirrels in the southern part or west war dly towards Point 

 Reyes. Individuals were seen twice many years ago on the Rancho San 

 Geronimo, but ' ' they never stayed. ' ' To all appearances the conditions 

 here are identical with those in the Russian River district and a few 

 miles west of Petaluma where the animals in question are plentiful, 

 or used to be until successfully combated. 



Within the California portion of its range the Douglas Ground Squir- 

 rels are believed to be most numerous in Tehama County, this according 

 to the consensus of opinion in the office of the State Superintendent of 

 Rodent Control. In Shasta County, next on the north, there are rela- 



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