Hey, jehennamama

[madshutterbug]

It appears you are correct! I figure you've seen this post (linked) already, which is over singingnettle's place and is piccies of the little critters we saw at the scenic overlook. Someone there says they're Golden Ground Squirrels, not Chipmunks. So I just want to set the record up now, You Called It The First Time!

Comments

[jehannamama.livejournal.com]

Ah yes... it's the tails. Chipmunks don't have much of one to speak of. Ground squirrels do look quite different from tree squirrels, especially those east of the Mississippi.

Ground squirrels are really facinating animals, suited to arid places, as they have evolved this odd relationship with rattlesnakes. They eat the skins the snakes shed and apparently the adults develop an immunity to the venom. The snakes live off the youngsters, often. There was a remarkable movie clip on ground squirrels baiting a rattle snake and winning the fight. They gang up on them. There's also interesting stuff about how they have developed their body heat sites to food the rattlers. Mother Nature at her best! I had pics of these guys, a litter of babies lined up on the wall outside of my kitchen window, barking at me as I washed dishes. They were really fun to watch.

I haven't found the video, again, but there are interesting articles on it online with other videos.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn12477-squirrels-wield-a-hot-secret-weapon.html

http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/0702599104/DC1

Here is one with a gopher snake...

[singingnettle.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's interesting.

Hmmm, I wonder if the smaller snake I found in my quail photos is a gopher snake? It is a spotty snake.

What's interesting about this video is that squirrels normally, once they're beyond puberty or unless they're a temporary male-female pair around mating and pupping time, keep a distance from each other and fight if they get too close to each other. These guys are clearly cooperating.

[singingnettle.livejournal.com]

That is my friend goldfish42.

You know, I thought their little heads were too round for chipmunks.

They're deadly cute, in any case, whatever you call them. Just don't call them late for peanuts and sunflower seeds...