Hiding In the Grass

This is a close up of one of several thirteen-lined ground squirrels that have made our yard their home.

The thirteen-lined ground squirrel, as the name suggests, is a burrowing animal who is active only during the daytime and hibernates during the winter. It is quite common in the grasslands and prairies of North America. The thirteen-lined ground squirrel is also known as the striped gopher, leopard ground squirrel, squinney, and as the leopard-spermophile in Audubon’s day.

This photo opportunity was a surprise to both of us. I was rounding a corner of my house, on my way to fill a bird feeder, when I saw this guy a few feet away. We both froze. After a few moments of non-movement I took a step closer. He didn’t move a muscle. The only camera I had was my cellphone. I turned it on and moved closer. The critter stayed frozen. I inched closer. Still no movement. I continued to slowly move closer until my camera was within a few inches and I snapped a couple of shots. Still no movement from the ground squirrel. I slowly backed away and when I got about 10 feet away, he took off for the nearest burrow.

As I said, this was taken with my cellphone camera, so it’s not of the highest quality but, still, an acceptable shot. The value in this image is not the quality but the closeness.

You can view a larger, more detailed version of this image by clicking on the photo.

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