Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel

There were a few of these very cute Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrels at Cameron Falls, in Waterton Lakes National Park. There were picnic tables nearby and where there are people, these little creatures know that, if they are "lucky", someone will give them food. This one managed to get a Sunflower seed from people who were at one of the tables. I love the tiny hands of these little guys, and of any of the species in the Sciuridae family that consists of small or medium-size rodents. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots (including woodchucks), flying squirrels, and prairie dogs.

"Spermophilus lateralis is found in Canada and the United States. It ranges from southeast British Colombia and southwest Alberta, into the western United States as far east as western Colorado and down to northwestern New Mexico and southern California.

Golden-mantled ground squirrels have little positive economic importance to humans. They do however, provide amusement and enjoyment for many campers as they can become quite tame, living at campgrounds and taking food from eager campers hands. (Bartels and Thompson, 1993).

Spermophilus lateralis can have a negative impact on the timber industry. In the fall, coniferous seeds make up a large portion of their diet, and S. lateralis can harm reforestation efforts by eating newly sprouted conifer seeds. They have little impact on agriculture because of habitat selection."

animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Spermophilus_late...

During three days away (26, 27 and 28 August 2014) with friends, Cathy and Terry, we saw so many things, including breathtaking scenery, 4 Black Bears (including one that was swimming in the lake), Bison, Deer, Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels, Chipmunks, various bird species including endangered Burrowing Owls (way east of Waterton, on our last day), a few wildflowers, several Yellow-bellied Marmots (a first for me, and seen way east of Waterton Park), a few different insect species, and a family of Dusky Grouse that are uncommon in the park. I even got the chance to see three or four new-to-me old, wooden grain elevators. Definitely a great trip!

Even the weather was perfect - that is, till the moment we decided that it was time to start driving back to Calgary. Around 5:00 p.m., a mesocyclone rolled in, totally engulfing our car and bringing pounding hail, maybe 3 feet visibility, and tremendously strong winds. Fortunately, we weren't caught in the very centre of the storm - can't imagine how bad that would have been!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Our beautiful, mild winter weather came to an end last night. We woke up to snow everywhere (16 March 2015), with a temperature of -1C this morning, supposedly soaring to a balmy 3C this afternoon.