Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel

The golden-mantled ground squirrel is often mistaken for an oversized chipmunk, but it is a true ground squirrel. Its head, shoulders and front legs are a warm russet to orange gold, the golden mantle of its name, and a white stripe edged in black runs along each side from shoulder to hip. In Oregon it lives on the east slope of the Cascades, through much of central Oregon and in several other mountain ranges, in open forest, rocky places and clearings, and it often turns up in areas disturbed by people or by nature.

It is active by day from late winter or early spring until mid-autumn, dashing between stumps, logs and rocks and pausing on them to look around. It eats a wide range of foods, including seeds, fruit, flowers, leaves, fungi, insects and now and then small animals. Through the summer it fattens up, often tripling its weight, and then spends the winter hibernating underground. Late summer, when it is busy gathering seeds, is the easiest time to watch one. Females raise one litter a year, usually five or six young.

Please do not feed them. Animals that get handouts can become sick or dependent on people, and hand-feeding can lead to injuries.