A pale brown squirrel with a relatively short tail and a
characteristically stiff, erect posture on occasion, which alone is
enough for identification. Total length about 11 inches. Widely
distributed in the west and formerly called Wyoming ground squirrel or
picket-pin gopher in the southern Rockies. It is not a gopher.
These gregarious little fellows so frequently seen, alert and erect
along the roadsides, have invaded the flat mountain meadows from the
lower foothills. Living in colonies somewhat like prairie dogs (not
found in this region), their groups of small mounds are often scattered
in the grass near fields that have been cultivated to hay crops.
[Illustration: Marmot]
[Illustration: Chickaree]
[Illustration: Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel]