Golden-mantled ground squirels
These familiar little ground squirrels (Citellus lateralis), easily recognized by their side-stripes and yellow-buffy heads and shoulders, are found in much of the mountainous western US and southern Canada. They live in dense forests and (as in the case of many of these individuals) high above timberline, hibernating for as much as nine months of the year. In preparation for hibernation they store large amounts of fat in the summer and early fall, often carrying food in their cheeks (below, left). I photographed these squirrels near the Barcroft Laboratory in the White Mountains of eastern California, at about 3,600 m (more than 12,000 feet), and on Convict Creek in the eastern Sierra Nevada (due west of the White Mountains).
Images copyright by Mark A. Chappell
