Flickr - Furryscaly - Franklin's Ground Squirrel

Description:

A Franklin's ground squirrel, Spermophilus franklinii, out at "the desert" near Bismarck, North Dakota. Oddly enough, "the desert" isn't really a desert. The Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center (NPWRC) really needs to update their website. They don't even include this species in their catalogue of North Dakota small mammals, and only reference it on their S. richardsonii page saying: "Richardson ground squirrels could possibly be confused with the Franklin's ground squirrel which can also be found in eastern North Dakota. The Franklin's is similar in size but has a longer tail and is more grey in appearance." ...even though this is not eastern North Dakota. On a side note, it is kind of sad that I've never even seen a Richardson's ground squirrel, even though they're supposed to live nearly over the whole state. Our old state nickname even came from the squirrels. Maybe they changed it cause they're not so common anymore.