Do you remember this little friend? It's one of the most frequently sighted furballs in my yard, and I've blogged about it before. But, I've rarely been so thrilled to see one. It's a 13-lined ground squirrel, Ictidomys Tridecemlineatus. That amazing species name just means 13 lines! The genus is actually a new breakdown of the old Spermophilus genus. All of the genetic testing is revolutionizing taxonomy!
They are terrible for a lawn, but they are so cute, that I can't stay angry. Our "lawn" isn't a big deal. I'm always happy to see them, but this late spring, it seems like a real promise of increasing warmth.
Don't you just wonder what it's thinking about? Actually, in this case, I can tell you with a great deal of accuracy based on what happened next.
It grabbed a slug! Nothing like a tasty lunch! And I suspect that many of you who find some of my wildlife dinners gruesome will not mourn the passing of a slug nearly so much.
I'm still smiling at the antics of this little one. They do hibernate, so the awakening is a true sign of spring. I won't tell him that the weather forecast is rain and snow all week.
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So cute! I wish we had cute rodents that freely roam the neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteNice photographic record of your friend's breakfast hunt. We had one of those in our yard a few years ago. But our dog is a rat terrier...
ReplyDeleteoh, so cute, the eyes are lovely.
ReplyDeleteoh he is a little cutie. I've never seen one of those before
ReplyDeleteIt was confused what to eat after hibernating for a long time.
ReplyDeleteIvy- you must have some little rodents there- really? you don't?
ReplyDeletevanilla- Maggie has dispatched a few. I try not to get attached to any particular one... and they do make an awful mess digging holes.
betchai- they really are cute, and those huge eyes seem very knowing.
ann- I never had seen one till we moved to Michigan. Upper Midwest/ Plains is their bailiwick
rainfield- you'd think so... they mostly like seeds, but will eat the occasional insect, etc. and I caught him in the act!
I love seeing these little fellas. It's such fun discovering one for the first time.
ReplyDeleteAWWW! He is awfully cute!! And I'm glad to see they eat slugs. I don't like them very much. Blech.
ReplyDeleteRatty- they have a way of getting into your cute zone! for sure.
ReplyDeleteLin- They mostly eat seeds. I was surprised to see that it had a slug, but they do occasionally go for some protein.
Not cute ones!
ReplyDeleteUmmm, yummy slugs..not on the top of my dietary favorites. Now, I might fight him for snail with lots of garlic butter. He is so cute, no wonder you don't mind him.
ReplyDelete