Just got back from a trip to Mesa Verde National Park where, in addition to some amazing ancient stone villages, I saw what appeared to be a chipmunk carrying a dead squirrel in its mouth off the side of the road! It turns out what I saw was probably a squirrel, possibly the Golden-manteled ground squirrel (pictured to the left from the Yosemite National Park site: http://www.nps.gov/yell/slidefile/mammals/groundsquirrels/page.htm). These squirrels are omnivorous, which means they eat "leaves, flowers, seeds, fungi, insects, eggs, small vertebrates, and carrion," according to the Ground-Dwelling Squirrels of the Pacific Northwest, page 11. So the next time that cute little squirrel comes up looking for a handout at the picnic table remember he may actually like a bite of your ham sandwich to go with the peanuts.
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Squirrels are omnivorous
Just got back from a trip to Mesa Verde National Park where, in addition to some amazing ancient stone villages, I saw what appeared to be a chipmunk carrying a dead squirrel in its mouth off the side of the road! It turns out what I saw was probably a squirrel, possibly the Golden-manteled ground squirrel (pictured to the left from the Yosemite National Park site: http://www.nps.gov/yell/slidefile/mammals/groundsquirrels/page.htm). These squirrels are omnivorous, which means they eat "leaves, flowers, seeds, fungi, insects, eggs, small vertebrates, and carrion," according to the Ground-Dwelling Squirrels of the Pacific Northwest, page 11. So the next time that cute little squirrel comes up looking for a handout at the picnic table remember he may actually like a bite of your ham sandwich to go with the peanuts.
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Yesterday I was in Rocky Mountain National Park hiking on the Bierstadt Lake trail, and enjoying the beauty of the flora and fauna. http://www.nps.gov/romo/ After reading this posting several weeks ago, I haven't been be able to look at squirrels or chipmunks in the quite the same way. They're no longer the cute fuzzy creatures of my former innocence. http://memory.loc.gov/ndlpcoop/ichicdn/n0037/n003775.jpg
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