Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel (Callospermophilus lateralis)
Location: Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA
Despite the stripes, this little critter is not a chipmunk; it is a ground squirrel. Taxonomically, ground squirrels and chipmunks belong to the same family, Sciuridae, but represent different genera.
According to the Smithsonian Institution's website about North American Mammals, Gold-mantled Ground Squirrels are solitary burrow-dwellers that "eat almost anything, including fungi, a variety of plants, fruits, and seeds, insects in all life-cycle stages, nestling birds and eggs, small mammals, and carrion."
I photographed this individual earlier this month in a wooded area near the shore of a small lake within Rocky Mountain National Park.
I photographed this individual earlier this month in a wooded area near the shore of a small lake within Rocky Mountain National Park.
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