Ground Squirrel, Rocky Mountain National Park Poster

"Ground Squirrel, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado" by Catherine Sherman. I saw this ground squirrel while I waited in vain for bighorn sheep to appear at Sheep Lakes in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. The ground squirrel, likely a Wyoming ground squirrel (Urocitellus elegans), hurried from plant to plant, delicately biting a few leaves and flowers from a plant and then quickly moving to the next plant. Wyoming ground squirrels are medium-sized squirrels averaging between 10 and 12 inches in length. They are a solid, brownish grey colour with a lighter belly. They have no stripes. These squirrels often sit in alert upright poses. They like open country where the soil is well drained so that their burrows remain dry. They often leave piles of debris downslope from their burrows. They live in areas between 6,000 and 12,000 feet in elevation. During mid-summer their food begins to convert to fat to sustain them through their winter hibernation period. This begins when they have reached a critical amount of fat, regardless of external environmental conditions. This usually occurs in late August or early September. Soon after hibernation, these ground squirrels breed. The female gestation period is a little over four weeks with a brood of five to six young on average. They are weaned by five weeks and then appear above ground by early June.