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The diurnal Arctic ground squirrel lives on the tundra, where it may fall prey to the Arctic and the red fox, wolverine, Canada and Eurasian lynx, brown bear, snowy owls and eagles. It is one of the few Arctic mammal species which hibernates in the winter, similarly to the little brown bat and the closely-related marmot . [ 13 ]
Hibernating Arctic ground squirrels may exhibit abdominal temperatures as low as −2.9 °C (26.8 °F), maintaining sub-zero abdominal temperatures for more than three weeks at a time, although the temperatures at the head and neck remain at 0 °C (32 °F) or above. [14]
Thirteen-lined ground squirrels can survive in hibernation for over six months without food or water and special physiological adaptations allow them to do so. [6] They alternate between torpor bouts of 7 to 10 days when their body temperatures drops to 5-7°C, and interbout arousals of less than 24 hours with their body temperature back to 37 ...
Whether arctic ground squirrels or hibernating bats, the animal world still has a lot to teach us when it comes to the subtle art of entering a deep and long sleep. You Might Also Like.
Urocitellus is a genus of ground squirrels.They were previously believed to belong to the much larger genus Spermophilus, but DNA sequencing of the cytochrome b gene showed that this group was paraphyletic to the prairie dogs and marmots, [2] [3] and could therefore no longer be retained as a single genus.
Whether you call them woodchucks, whistle pigs, ground pigs, or groundhogs, these large ground squirrels can be a real nuisance in your yard and garden.
The Columbian ground squirrel is one of the largest members of the genus, the largest being the Arctic ground squirrel. [2] They have a relatively sturdy, robust build. They measure 325–410 mm (12.8–16.1 in) in length overall, with a tail measuring 80–116 mm (3.1–4.6
Grey squirrels, or Eastern grey squirrels, primarily live in the Eastern half of the U.S. and southern Canada. There is also a healthy population in the U.K., where they were imported in the 19th ...