Stats

Lifespan

2-4 yrs

Size

Small

Diet

Omnivore

Activity

Diurnal

Social

Solitary

Biome

Temperate grassland

Range

North America

Movement

Burrowing

Breeding

Live birth

Defense

Burrowing

Status

Uncommon

About

The thirteen-lined ground squirrel is a small prairie rodent named for the alternating stripes and rows of pale spots running down its back. It spends much of the year in true hibernation, with its body temperature dropping to near freezing for months at a stretch.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   newborn pup

   A blind, hairless pup nurses in the nest and is unable to regulate its own warmth.
2. 2.
   juvenile

   A weaned juvenile is fully furred, leaves the nest, and begins foraging on solid food.
3. 3.
   adult

   Fully grown and self-sufficient.

Learn more

• View on iNaturalist →

Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Rodentia

Family

Sciuridae

Genus

Ictidomys

Species

Ictidomys tridecemlineatus