Mexican Ground Squirrel - Spermophilus mexicanus

Habitat

The Mexican ground squirrel lives in flat, brushy or grassy areas and usually prefers areas with gravelly or sandy soil. It is often found in sandy and mesquite areas of savannas.

Diet

The Mexican ground squirrel is omnivorous and feeds during the day. Its diet includes seeds, nuts, grains, roots, bulbs, plant stems, leaves, mice, insects, and eggs. It often stores seeds, grains, and nuts in its cheek pouches and takes them back to its den to eat later. In the spring, most of its diet is plant matter. In the summer, it eats insects. It also eats carrion and is often seen eating roadkill on the highway.

Life Cycle

Breeding season is in March and early April. The gestation period is 23-28 days. The female prepares a nesting chamber in her burrow and lines it with mesquite and grass. She gives birth to 1-10 young, although the average litter size is five. The young are toothless, naked, and blind at birth. They will stay with their mother for about three months.

Behavior

Except for breeding season and when raising young, the Mexican ground squirrel is a solitary creature. While it is solitary, it may live in a colony burrow system. Each squirrel has more than one burrow and each burrow has two entrances. The entrances are difficult to locate, and they are unmarked by dirt piles. The Mexican ground squirrel may hibernate in the northern part of its range.