The California ground squirrel is a burrowing squirrel of parks, fields, and hillsides across most of California, and it also lives in western Nevada and Baja California. It's known for standing up to rattlesnakes—waving its tail, kicking sand, and even rubbing shed snakeskin on itself to mask its scent. It's also called the Beechey ground squirrel.
Appearance
- Appearance
- About 12 in (30 cm) of head and body plus a 6 in (15 cm) tail; 10–26 oz (280–738 g). The back is mottled gray, light brown, and dusky, with paler gray shoulders and neck sides and a whitish ring around each eye. Its tail is bushier than most ground squirrels' but not as full as a tree squirrel's.
Look-alikes
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Grasslands
- Parks
- Farmland
- Open woodlands
- Range
- Most of California, western Nevada around Reno and Lake Tahoe, and Mexico's Baja California Peninsula. Squirrels north and west of the Sacramento River, and in Oregon and Washington, are now treated as a separate species, the Douglas' ground squirrel.
- Preferred conditions
- Prefers open ground where it can dig. It tends to avoid true desert.
- When to see it
In California
Breeding Mar–Jun · Active Jan–Oct
Behavior
- Diet
- Mostly plants: green grasses and herbs after it emerges in late winter, then seeds, grains, nuts, and fruit from late spring through fall. It also eats crickets and grasshoppers and stuffs food into its cheek pouches to store underground.
- Activity
- Active by day, mostly midmorning to late afternoon on warm, sunny days. Adults are typically out mid-January through October; most hibernate in winter, longer at higher, colder sites, and some may for a few days to a week in the hottest weather.
- Social life
- Lives in colonies. Burrows may be shared, but each squirrel has its own entrance, and a squirrel's home range is typically within about 75 yards (70 m) of its burrow.
Life cycle
- Breeding season
- Mating can start in January in warm areas, peaking March through June.
- Nest
- Young are born in the burrow, which is usually 5–30 ft long and 2–3 ft deep.
- Gestation
- About one month
- Litter size
- One litter a year, usually 5–8 young (range 1–15)
- Time to maturity
- Young come aboveground at about 6 weeks and can breed at about 1 year.
- Lifespan
- Up to about 6 years
Cautions
- Cautions
- Its fleas can carry plague. If you find several dead squirrels with no obvious cause, don't touch them and let public health officials know.
Name and classification
- About the name
- Formerly called Spermophilus beecheyi; it was moved to Otospermophilus in 2009 after genetic work showed the old genus wasn't a natural group. Several subspecies are recognized, including one on Santa Catalina Island.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- Named for Frederick William Beechey, an early 19th-century British naval officer and explorer.
- A serious pest for California growers: it eats grains and fruit and nut trees, gnaws bark and irrigation lines, and its burrows can topple trees and damage buildings.
More species to explore
Record what you meet and build your own collection
Your photos are kept with their date and place, and you can fill regional albums one species at a time.