Entrances of burrows are usually placed beside rocks, stumps or logs. In the area near Leavenworth, mentioned above, entrances to burrows were in the open or among roots of bushes. The entrances to many burrows are doubtless concealed under talus slides. No complete records of excavations of burrows are available. One burrow, uncovered by road construction operations three miles east of Scenic, Chelan County, was dug in the earth-filled cleft of a great granite boulder. The cleft was 5 feet wide at the surface of the ground but narrowed until at a depth of six feet the stones were in contact. The cleft was at least 10 yards long. The burrow descended at an angle of 45 degrees, to a depth of three feet. Here the construction work had passed the cleft, but digging into the almost vertical wall uncovered the nest at the end of a horizontal tunnel two feet farther on. It was a matted cup of dry grass with two fresh, green fern fronds lying loose in the cup. Two divergent burrows emerged on opposite sides of the nest cavity, but a fall of the loose, gravelly soil prevented further observation. The body of the occupant, crushed and mangled by the steam-shovel scoop, was that of a small male.
Fig. 87. Golden-mantled ground squirrel (Citellus saturatus), captured when young at Tye, Washington, by Earl J. [Larrison], June 20, 1940; photographed February 1, 1941. (Fish and Wildlife Service photo by Victor B. [Scheffer], No. 1139.)
In spite of their vivacious appearance, these squirrels are rather sedentary. When undisturbed they move leisurely over rocks and stumps, pausing often, and occasionally sitting on their hindquarters to gaze about for minutes at a time. They are good climbers and often ascend smooth-barked trees to heights of 20 feet or more. At the approach of danger they descend and enter the nearest burrow. In August these ground squirrels become exceedingly fat and by late September only a few may be seen, basking in the midday sun. These take alarm at the slightest excuse. All have usually gone into hibernation by October 15.
The food includes the berries of salal, huckleberry, mountain ash, and seeds of lupine. Near Liberty, Kittitas County, a squirrel killed by a car had its cheek pouches stuffed with garden peas. The source of its loot was doubtless the garden of a farmhouse 100 feet away. Numerous individuals are run over by cars, and on many occasions I have found other individuals eating the sun-dried flesh of their mates, parents, or young. These cannibals are often run over while so engaged, and it is not unusual to find two or three dead on a section of pavement 20 feet in length.
Economically this species is of little importance. Its principal enemies probably include hawks, weasels, martens, bobcats and coyotes.
Sciurus griseus griseus Ord
Western gray squirrel
Sciurus griseus Ord, Jour. de phys., 87:152, 1818.