This guy decided to sneak up on me while I was waiting to see if Uncertain Geyser was going to erupt (Uncertain is located in the shoulder of Sawmill Geyser). He enjoyed climbing in and out of my backpack and was only scared away when an over enthusiastic child started poking at him with a stick
There are many different types of ground squirrels all over the world. In fact, there are a few different types throughout the Yellowstone region. In the Old Faithful Area, though, you will most likely run into the guy pictured above - The Golden Mantled Ground Squrrel.He looks like a chipmunk you say?
This is true and the two are often confused with each other because there are chipmunks in the area as well. Here are the main differences:
- The chipmunk has a stripe all the way up his body and onto his head. The GM ground squirrel's stripe stops at its shoulders.
- GM ground squirrels tend to be slightly larger than chipmunks.
- As the name would indicate, the GM ground squirrel has a slightly more bronze tint to the hair on its head.
- GM ground squirrels have a slightly bigger, bushier tails.
Other than that, the two animals do pretty much have the same behavior.
