striped gopher
 

got a striped gopher today

http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/...psk634lf6z.jpg

Not 100% sure but I believe that is a Columbian ground squirrel instead of the usual Richardson variety.

It is a thirteen striped ground squirrel.

Gopher
 

That would be a thirteen striped gopher, they make good targets as well!:happy0034:

Agreed.

I've made the acquaintance of alot of Columbians up in the hills and didn't see no stripes like that. Cool

Neat, are they the same size as the other varieties?

They are half the size of a Richardsons or less.

i won't shoot them....not many around down here.

That's a thirteen lined ground squirrel. I've only ever seen one in my whole life. It was quite a thrill. Neat picture.

That looks cool! I've never seen one, never even knew that they existed. Now I have to look them up.

Edit- none around here.

Do they exist in their own colonies or are they intermixed with other varieties of ground squirrels?

Low numbers in AB
 

That's all they have to shoot further east, very common in Manitoba.
13 liners are tiny, as mentioned, half the size of greys (Richardson's).
Thanks for sharing, didn't know we had those here.
What part of the province did you find that one?

He's a little beauty! Had no idea they even existed

I first learned about Thirteen Lined Ground Squirrels when I was in High School.
It's my nature to want to learn as much as I can about the creatures around me, so when I moved south to go to high school and saw my first "gopher" I did some reading about ground squirrels, but I've forgot much of what I read.

So I had to look them up in my reference book. Mammals Of Alberta says they form small loose colony's along brushy edges and in tall grass. They don't like open areas and spend much of their time in tunnels they cut through the tall grass.

It also says it's easy to misidentify them as Richardson's if one doesn't get a good look at them.
It advises to watch for lone squirrels along roadsides where there is brush and tall grass.

It also says they occur throughout the south east quarter of the province, but in low numbers.

They are not uncommon east of Edmonton , but not near as common as the Richardson. I mostly see them in tall grass ditches and under outbuildings. they arent as obnoxious as there bigger cousins ,but can still be a pain.

I had to google it when I got home and found out about the striped gopher. Don't think I've seen one before. And I have not seen any others in this pasture but I will keep an eye out for more. Since it is spring most of the gophers aren't very big so he was in the same size range as all the rest. this was NW of Nanton.

In hind sight I wish I kept him, I've never skinned a gopher before. LOL

13 lined ground squirrels are pets on our club trap range.

I don't know about that. Not really common are they? Only seen a couple over the years.

Grizz

I have seen the odd one around in the West Country but always figured it was a type of chipmunk. Or a hybrid of some sort, a Gophmunk or a Chipher.

The first time I heard of them was when we were shooting gophers south-east of Edmonton. The farmer told us to stay out of one pasture because it had a colony of the 13 lined ground squirrels. He said they were uncommon and that he didn't want people shooting them.
I see them only on rare occasions and always give them a pass.

Could be a golden mantled ground squirrel. Looks like a chipmunk, but it doesn't have the stripes on the side of its head.

I saw one near Killam a week ago. They were quite common in East central Saskatchewan. They usually live in old farmyards and around bins, and not in large colonies where I have seen them.

They used to be quite common in Saskatchewan years ago.Shot lots of them

Nice picture different looking

I've seen both types. I find the stripers taste gamier than the Richardson's.:)

Yah but for their size they put up a way better fight....

x2

I eat striped shorts for breakfast and wash it down with whiskey

Striped gophers....

Gophers
 

Besides the Richardson`s which is the common gopher and the 13 striped gopher the is another gray coloured one with a very bushy tail that we call a bush gopher. Not a chipmunk and not a ground hog. Book shows Columbian in the foothills but I see these in the NE part of the province.