Species: Spermophilus washingtoni
Washington Ground Squirrel
Species
Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Rodentia
Family
Sciuridae
Genus
Spermophilus
NatureServe
Classification
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Mammals - Rodents
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Mammalia - Rodentia - Sciuridae - Spermophilus - until 1938. Phenetic and karyotypic data indicate that this is a monotypic species (Hill 1978).
Ecology and Life History
Short General Description
A ground squirrel.
Migration
true - false - false - Klein et al. (2005) studied dispersal patterns of 125 radio-collared juvenile males in north-central Oregon. Mean dispersal probability was 0.718. Median dispersal distance was 880 meters (range up to 3.5 kilometers). There was suggestive evidence that survival of dispersers was higher than that of nondispersers.
Non-migrant
true
Locally Migrant
false
Food Comments
Feeds on herbaceous vegetation (including cultivated plants), roots, bulbs, seeds, and insects.
Reproduction Comments
Breeds late January-early February, soon after emergence from hibernation; later at higher elevations than at lower elevations. Gestation lasts probably 23-30 days. Young are born in February and early March. Litter size is 5-11 (average is 8). Young appear above ground in late March or April, nearly full-sized by late May (Rickart and Yensen 1991).
Ecology Comments
Individuals live alone or in colonies. Density 120-250/ha in favorable habitat. Badger probably is the most important predator.
Length
25
Weight
284
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G2
Global Status Last Reviewed
2006-05-29
Global Status Last Changed
2000-08-24
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
<img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?US.OR=S2&US.WA=S2" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
Global Range
EF - 5000-200,000 square km (about 2000-80,000 square miles) - EF - The range includes the Columbia Plateau in eastern Washington east and south of the Columbia River, and northern Oregon between the John Day River and the Blue Mountains (Betts 1990, Verts and Carraway 1998). The three main occupied areas (two in Wasington, one in Oregon) are highly disjunct, separated by more than 50 kilometers (30 miles) of unoccupied land (Betts 1990). The elevational range is 90-450 meters (Rickart and Yensen 1991).
Global Range Code
EF
Global Range Description
5000-200,000 square km (about 2000-80,000 square miles)