Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel

  • They get their name from their golden mantle, as seen on their head and shoulders.

  • They are omnivores, known to eat a wide variety of food including underground fungi, nuts, acorns, seeds, flowers, birds, eggs, lizards and insect larvae.

  • They eat a lot of coniferous tree seeds which makes reforestation efforts harder because the seeds aren’t able to disperse.

  • They hibernate in the winter in underground dens that are shallow in height, but about 20 feet long.

  • They are not very social and tend to live alone.