Stats

Lifespan

Up to 7 yrs

Size

Small

Diet

Omnivore

Activity

Diurnal

Social

Colony

Biome

Temperate grassland

Range

North America

Movement

Burrowing

Breeding

Live Birth

Defense

Burrowing

Status

Uncommon

About

This rodent lives in the grassy meadows and mountain slopes of the western U.S. It spends up to seven months of the year in a deep hibernation state inside underground burrows.

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

Urocitellus

Species

Urocitellus armatus