White Tailed Antelope Ground Squirrel

Antelope Ground Squirrel

NPS/ Dave Hursey

General Description

White tailed antelope ground squirrels Ammospermophilus leucrus are small in size and are sometimes confused with chipmunks. There are three other unique species of antelope ground squirrels found in the United States: Harris's antelope squirrel (A. harrisii), Texas antelope squirrel (A. interpres), Nelson's antelope squirrel (A. nelsoni) Although all four are similar in appearance there are characteristics that set the white tailed antelope ground squirrel apart from the other species.
White tailed antelope ground squirrels have longer legs than their cousins. Their backs are gray to brown with two whitish stripes, one down each side from the shoulder to the beginning of the tail. As their name infers, the underside of the tail is white as well as their belly. They run with their tails curved above their backs with the white underside showing.

White tailed antelope ground squirrels are approximately 7.5 inches long from head to the tip of the tail and they weigh on average about 3.7 ounces. They also carry their food in pouches in the cheek. The female of this species has ten mammae, which is more than other antelope ground squirrel species, which have four to seven. Their range is the Great Basin to Baja California including parts of California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Utah and Oregon.

 

Diet and Behavior

White Tailed Antelope Ground Squirrels are omnivores and eat a variety of foods including, Foliage, seeds, insects, cholla and barrel cactus, prickly pears, and the occasional mouse and lizard.
White Tailed Antelope Ground Squirrels have a range of about 15 acres and roam about 4 acres a day during their daily activities. As their name "Ground Squirrel" implies they live in burrows underground beneath creosote bushes and yucca.
They are most active in the cooler parts of the day. White Tailed Antelope Ground Squirrels are diurnal (Active during the day) and the sleep at night. This protects them predators that come out after dark.
These squirrels also utilize “heat dumping” by spreading out on their belly in a shady spot. This cools the squirrels body.They also curl their tails over their bodies like an umbrella to shade themselves.They can live between 2-4 years in the wild.

 

Where to Find

White tailed antelope squirrels can be found at lower elevations throughout most of Mojave National Preserve.