Yesterday I was very lucky to find these pups with their mother outside their burrow because youngsters are weaned at 22 days of age and their mother almost completely abandons them after weaning. Then they’re on their own so they disperse to establish their own territories. And try to survive.
Yesterday morning after my recent health challenges I forced myself to get “out there” and try to find some cooperative birds. I knew I didn’t have a long drive in me so I chose to go east into the nearby Wasatch Mountains. It was a slow morning and I was bird-skunked but these adorable Uinta Ground Squirrels saved my day.
All 13 photos below are presented in the order they were taken.
I saw this very young pup from a distance but “he” went down his burrow as I approached. With all of my experience with “gophers” (Richardson’s Ground Squirrels) on the Montana farm I knew there was a good chance he’d reappear if I waited long enough and that’s what happened. It took a good long while though.
And soon a sibling appeared.
The second pup was slightly smaller and more timid for the entire 24 minutes I spent with them. I’m reasonably sure they’re born in litters at roughly the same time so maybe the one on the left was the runt of the litter. These two were the only youngsters to emerge from the burrow. There was an adult feeding in the grass about 50′ to the left but at this point I had no idea what relationship it might have with the pups.
The pup on the right fed on grass for quite a while but the smaller one never did eat anything.
Some time later I was vaguely aware of the adult off to my left barking out its alarm call when suddenly these two pups dived down into their hole in a panic – so fast I didn’t get any photos of it.
In a flash the adult was there at the entrance to the burrow the youngsters had gone down. She never did join them in the burrow but she was on full alert.
I wondered what scared them so badly so naturally this bird photographer looked to the sky for an approaching raptor but a bird of prey wasn’t the perceived threat. Instead it was a small group of cows and their calves that had sneaked up behind my pickup in order to cross a nearby stream. When I looked behind me they were very close but I hadn’t seen or heard them coming.
This is 3 of them after they had crossed the stream and emerged from the willows. I happen to know that these cows and many others had been trucked to the area (their summer grazing range) only the day before so the squirrels definitely wouldn’t have been used to having them around.
Once the cows were far enough away the adult female at the burrow entrance barked at them mercilessly.
Soon she was able to coax one of the pups back out of the hole…
where it joined her topside.
At one point she appeared to be trying to push the pup back down into the burrow but it resisted and eventually…
the other more timid pup joined them. Once they were both topside and safe she left the immediate area and went back to her grazing.
Then the larger pup started eating grass but the smaller one would only watch and it did so intently. I had the definite impression that the runt might not be fully weaned yet and was still unsure how to go about eating grass and it even appeared that its sibling was trying to show him how it’s done. In the entire time I spent with them the smaller pup never did eat anything while its sibling gorged itself.
The concentration of the smaller pup on the eating process was complete and intense. After watching them for a little longer I eventually left them and drove up the road to look (unsuccessfully) for cooperative birds.
But only seconds after leaving the pups I photographed one of the reasons the wariness lessons taught by an attentive mom to her youngsters were so important.
Just a few yards up the road I spotted this marauding coyote on the prowl. At first it was very close to the road but it was extremely wary of my pickup and it was on the wrong side of my truck for photography so by the time I was able to turn around it was a long distance from me and getting further by the second. This photo has been heavily cropped.
At least one source I checked implied that coyotes are the #1 predator of Uinta Ground Squirrels in areas where both are found and that surprised me a little – I thought it might be raptors or even badgers.
Female ground squirrels don’t have long to teach their pups to be wary and those lessons are obviously essential.
Ron
Very nice shots! Very reminiscent of our Eastern chipmunks. Speaking of which, I should probably try locating and photographing them at some point in the future as well. Although repetitive, lovely shots Ron!
I am glad you were able to get out and do the things you love to do and I hope that continues for you.
While not a huge fan of squirrels here in CT (due to the cost of $9,000.00) for my dogs back leg surgery, torn ACL and miniscus after chasing squirrels. 🙂 I love this series and the narrative you provided here. The whole story put a smile on my face this morning.
The essence of “cute”…
🙂
HA! The computer tried to lose this post again, HOWEVER, I copied it, so here it is:
I just love this series–not to be ridiculously redundant or anything 😉 What a bunch of cuteness! The coyote looked really hungry, so those pups better listen to mom’s warnings!
When I was up in Boise, Idaho at the World Center of Birds, Peregrine Fund and the Falconry Archives facility, Morley Nelson informed us that prairie falcons living along the Snake River routinely prey on (insert whatever species of) ground squirrels. That’s been a while and Morley has sadly passed, but I doubt that prairie falcons have changed their diet.
I don’t have the same kind of pain as you, but I’ve found that it’s going to hurt whether I go out with Jack (or doing anything else) or if I sit home fussing over it. That’s my number one reason to keep moving and doing what I can do. Besides, that sitting at home fussing over the pain is so very annoying that it really makes me angry and grumpy and cranky and all sorts of bad things. Nobody likes that!
Glad you went!! And I’m hoping your pain recedes with each passing minute!
Laura, Morley Nelson is a legend amongst folks who really know raptors, especially in the west. I have a friend who trained under him for years. Sadly I never met him in person.
I am very, very glad you are starting to feel better. And hope it continues.
Your ground squirrels are yet another species we don’t have so I found the series fascinating. And hope that the smaller youngster gets its eating mojo on soon.
EC, we have 38 species of ground squirrels in North America. Interesting that you don’t have any in Oz.
Very good shots! I like the light and the ground squirrels and the narrative. Thank you.
I hope you’re feeling better and returning to health.
Thanks, Martha. Yup, finally feeling a little better today.
I’ll take the “gophers”…………;) Young of all species are cute and fun to watch. Interesting that the smaller one wasn’t really eating yet – better get it together soon! Wonderful series! Glad you’re feeling a bit better – “progress”? Anything “different” will set them off for sure. We have a prairie dog colony that coyotes and raptors regularly “work”.
I figured you’d pick up on that gopher thing, Judy. Those of us from that part of MT know why…
OK, you’d better share that joke!
It isn’t a joke, Laura. It’s just that there are so MANY! Richardson’s Ground Squirrels in that part of Montana and everyone just calls them gophers. I’ve actually seen sections of road get almost slippery from them as road kill…
Wat a wonderful series! Those Uinta Ground Squirrel pups are really cute. I also like that you were able to capture some of the life lessons the little ones have to learn.
Thanks, Susan.
You weren’t skunked, you were squirreled! 😉
Adorable youngsters and a good mama. I like the “family portrait” with the runt just popping its head out of the den.
Hope you’re feeling more like yourself soon!
“Squirreled” works for me, Marty. Thank you.
Good photos Ron – glad you were able to get out. Not always easy getting out to take photos when you are not 100%. Love the mother letting the cattle know what she thinks of them being in her territory. Get well.
Everett Sanborn, Prescott AZ
She really got in the face of those cows, Everett. From a safe distance of course… 🙂
Second to the last photo…’See, this is how you do it!’ Perhaps this is the runt and just needs extra coaching. 🙂 Lovely heartwarming series…the similarities in the care of all young is so obvious if we take the time to observe. The blessings of life with nature!
I’m glad you enjoyed the series, Kathy.
I am glad to see that you forced yourself to get “out there”. Sometimes it is the best solution to deal with health problems.
Beautiful photos. My favorite is number 10.
Wish you a fast recovery.
Thanks, Jorge. I got “out there” again this morning, too.
Ron, I’m early to the party today. Glad you are feeling well enough to get out of the house. Hope the injection helped/or will. I can relate.
What a cute series. Glad you showed what feared the Mother. The youngsters are too innocent to know the dangers before them.
I’ve never been a Mother, but through my siblings I can see the struggles they go through with their children/grandchildren. Doubt it is much different with animals.
Ron, hope that you feel better. It is challenging.
I do feel a little better this morning, Alice. So far… Thank you.