702 



THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



of alfilaria and keeping a careful watch at the same time upon the 

 intruder. A few days later a squirrel of this species was seen gathering 

 dry seeds of the alfilaria. It is difficult in the field to be sure just what 

 kind of seeds the squirrels are seeking out, since the seeds are too small 

 to be seen at any great distance even with the aid of binoculars, and 

 the stomach contents are so finely chewed that it is impracticable to 

 identify the food constituents. 



On one occasion an individual was seen to eat the dried flesh from 

 the hind leg of a dead kangaroo rat. This sort of provender had been 

 secured from a near-by meat-baited steel trap. From this incident 

 we conclude that this species of squirrel is not altogether vegetarian in 

 its food preferences. 



Very little information is at hand regarding the food carried in the 

 cheek-pouches of this rodent. A specimen taken at McKittrick, Kern 

 County, on May 19, 1911, had 744 seeds of the alfilaria (Er odium 

 cimitarium) in its cheek-pouches. No food stores of any kind were 

 found in the few burrows excavated. 



The Nelson Antelope Squirrel is distributed unevenly. It occurs in 

 abundance at only a few localities. At one of these favored localities, 

 eight miles northeast of Bakersfield, squirrels of this species were found 

 scattered over the low hills in little colonies of six or eight individuals 

 (H. S. Swarth, MS). It is believed that there were certain small areas 

 here that supported at least twenty-five of the squirrels to the acre. 

 However, they were present to this extent on only a small per cent of 

 the total acreage inhabited. At San Emigdio Ranch ten squirrels 

 represent the greatest number found on any one acre. At McKittrick 

 the number per acre was thought to be not over five. Taking the entire 

 range of the species into consideration, there is probably about one 

 squirrel to every two acres. 



Our impression is that on the east side of the San Joaquin Valley 

 the range of this squirrel is now being rapidly restricted by farming 

 activities. In 1911, and again in 1918, no Antelope Squirrels whatever 

 could be found in the vicinity of the type locality, Tipton, in Tulare 

 County, where it was common in June, 1893 (Merriam, 1893, p. 129). 

 The first Nelson Squirrel was noted in the 1911 search thirty miles 

 south of Tipton. The gradual settling up of the country, and the 

 cultivation of the kind of ground inhabited by this squirrel, has resulted 

 in the crowding out of the species over much of the eastern part of its 

 original range. It seems only a question of time when continued 

 reclamation will gradually restrict and eventually exterminate this 

 species over the arable portions of the San Joaquin Valley. 



The Nelson Antelope Ground Squirrel is at the present time of little 

 or no economic importance. It inhabits barren situations, apart from 

 cultivated land. Our opinion is that this squirrel is not likely ever 

 to become a pest. 



LOS BAftOS ANTELOPE GROUND SQUIRREL. 

 Ammospermophilus nelsoni amplus Taylor. 



Other names. — Nelson Ground Squirrel, part; Antelope Chipmunk, part; Ammo- 

 spermophilus nelsoni, part. 



110 



