Naturalist Jim McCormac writes a column for The Dispatch the first and third Sundays of the month. Take McClimansville Cemetery Road east from Rt. Maybe that's why the Buckeyes have beaten the Gophers in football 43 times in 50 meetings.Ī good place to look for thirteen-lined ground squirrels is Pleasant Cemetery, just north of Mount Sterling on the Madison-Pickaway county line. I'm sure their opponents are terror-stricken by cute little gophers that dive into holes at the first sign of danger. The University of Minnesota dubbed its sports teams the Golden Gophers. The Minnesotans were so smitten with this creature that they nicknamed their state the Gopher State. While a ground squirrel is in hibernation, its respiration slows from 150 to 200 breaths a minute to about one breath every five minutes. Suitably fattened, they enter the burrows by October and don't emerge until April. In late summer, the squirrels begin devouring all of the plants and insects they can get their paws on. They are furry Rip van Winkles they can hibernate for six months. Inveterate tunnelers, ground squirrels create subterranean labyrinths that might extend for 20 feet and contain numerous offshoots. Thus warned, the squirrels hotfoot it to their burrows. They move with a swaggering hustle, and, when disturbed, they disappear below ground. The rodents are inarguably cute, with large almond-shaped eyes and alternating bands of gold and brown. They're about the same length as a chipmunk - 10 inches from tip of nose to tail - but can be double the weight. Thirteen-lined ground squirrels resemble chipmunks on steroids. About two dozen other species of ground squirrels and prairie dogs occur in the western United States. Along with the prairies came thirteen-lined ground squirrels, and they persist to this day in scattered sites. Whatever you call the little gophers, they're fascinating relics of our prairie past.ĭuring the Xerothermic Period, about 5,000 years ago, Western prairies expanded east and reached their terminus in Ohio. At least it was changed from the olden days, when the beast was known as the leopard spermophile. The little mammal is bedecked with a massive name: the thirteen-lined ground squirrel ( Spermophilus tridecemlineatus). But, believe it or not, we have one, and it's a charmer.
#Cute chipmunk for free
Ohio is not often thought of for its prairie dogs. Download 2,940 Cute Chipmunk Stock Illustrations, Vectors & Clipart for FREE or amazingly low rates New users enjoy 60 OFF.
0 kommentar(er)
