Arctic Ground Squirrel ( Spermophilus parryii )

Arctic Ground Squirrel - Nunavut, Canada

Photograph by Steve Sayles. Some rights reserved. (view image details)

Arctic Ground Squirrel photograph from Wikipedia.

Photograph by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service . License: Public Domain. (view image details)

MAMMAL FACTS

Description
The Arctic Ground Squirrel has beige and tan fur mottled with white spots on its dorsal side. It has blunt face, small ears, and a dark brushy tail. There is a whitish ring round the eye. They live in colonies of 5 to 50 individuals. They hibernate underground to survive the harsh winter. It gets its common name of Siksik from the "tsik" sounding call it makes to alert others of danger.

Other Names
Siksik

Size
Length 39cm. Weight: 700g - 800g

Environment
well vegetated areas of the Arctic tundra, meadows

Food
Arctic Ground Squirrel are mainly herbivorous and eat grasses, sedges, fungi, roots, stalks, leaves, flowers, and seeds. It usually feeds holds the food between its paws.

Breeding
Five to ten young are born in a burrow after a gestation period of around 25 days. The young are born naked and blind. They are weaned after about 6 weeks.

Range
Alaska, northern Canada from the Arctic Circle to the southern border of the Northwest Territories, Alaska. Also Siberia

Classification

Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Sciuridae
Genus:	Spermophilus
Species:	parryii
Common Name:	Arctic Ground Squirrel