.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }
.flickr-yourcomment { }
.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }
.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }

Arctic Ground Squirrel, Denali National Park, originally uploaded by blather.

This little guy was very cheeky. I was 5000ft up on a mountain ridge, and he pretty much marched out of his burrow to greet me. Well, I nearly stepped on him first ,he vanished into a hole, only to pop up in another one seconds later – it was like one of those “hit them with the mallet” games. Then he just came over so close the telephoto was getting too long!

Loads more of this character…

Called Siksiks by the Inuit, the diurnal Arctic Ground Squirrel lives in colonies and is the only Arctic animal that hibernates. In the spring and summer they forage for tundra plants, seeds and fruit to increase body fat for their winter hibernation. By late summer they begin to store food in their burrows so that in the spring they will have edible food until the new vegetation has grown.

The burrows are lined with lichens, leaves and musk ox hair. During hibernation their body temperature can drop to just above freezing and their heartbeat drops. They are prey to arctic foxes and eagles.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_Ground_Squirrel

Get high resolution version »

Get full version »

daev

Chief Bottle Washer at Blather

Writer, photographer, environmental campaigner and "known troublemaker" Dave Walsh is the founder of Blather.net, described both as "possibly the most arrogant and depraved website to be found either side of the majestic Shannon River", and "the nicest website circulating in Ireland". Half Irishman, half-bicycle. He lives in southern Irish city of Barcelona.