Columbian Ground Squirrel

"a speceis of Burrowing squirrel" Columbian ground squirrel, Spermophilus columbianus (Ord)1, formerly Arctomys columbianus Ord

here are, as we now know, 50 different genera and 268 species in the family of rodents commonly associated with the name squirrel. It is understandable, therefore, that Lewis and Clark had some difficulty keeping their observations of those species separate from one another, and that their designations were often confusing--calling the chipmunk a ground squirrel, for example. It is correspondingly remarkable that they actually made a number of verifiable discoveries of species that were previously unknown to scientific biologists--the western gray squirrel, the chickaree or western red squirrel, the prairie dog, the bushy-tailed woodrat, and the mountain beaver.

At Camp Chopunnish on the Clearwater River, on May 27, 1806, Lewis had the leisure to write this 648-word portrait, complete with precision measurements, of an new species of squirrel that dwelt in the neighborhood.

There is a speceis of Burrowing squirrel common in these plains which in their habits somewhat resemble those of the missouri but are a distinct speceis. this little animal measures one fot five and 1/s inches from the nose to the extremity of the tail, of which the tail occupys 2-1/4 inches only; in the girth it is 11 In. the body is proportionably long, the neck and legs short; the ears are short, obtusely pointed, and lie close to the head; the aperture of the ear is larger proportionably than most animals which burrow. the eyes are of moderate size, the puple black and iris of a dark sooty brown. the teeth are like those of the squirrel as is it's whole contour. the whiskers are full, long and black; it also has some long black hairs above the eyes. it has five toes on each foot; the two inner toes of the fore feet are remarkably short, and have short blont nails. the remaining toes on those feet are long, black, slightly curved, and sharply pointed. the outer and inner toes of the hind feet are not short yet they are by no means as long as the three toes in the center of the foot which are remarkably long but the nails are not as long as those of the fore feet tho' of the same form and colour. the hair of the tail tho' thickly inserted on every part rispects the two sides only. this gives it a flat appearance and along ovol form. the tips of the hair which form the outer edges of the tail are white. the base of the hairs are either black or a fox red. the under disk of the tail is an iron grey, the upper a redish brown. the lower part of the jaws, under part of the neck, legs and feet from the body down and belley are of a light brick red. the nose as high as the eyes is of a darker brick red. the upper part of the head neck and body are of a curious brownish grey colour with a cast of the brick red. the longer hair of these parts being of a redish white colour at their extremities, fall together in such manner as to give it the appearance of being speckled at a little distance. these animals form large ascociations as those of the Missouri, occupying with their burroughs one or sometimes 200 acres of land. the burrows are separate and are each occupyed perhaps by ten or 12 of those animals. there is a little mound in front of the hole formed of the earth thrown out of the burrow and frequently there are three or four distinct holes forming what I term one burrow with their mouths arround the base of this little mound which seems to be occupyed as a watch-tower in common by the inhabitants of those several holes. these mounds are sometimes as much as 2 feet high and 4 feet in diameter, and are irregularly distributed over the tract they occupy at the distance of from ten to thirty or 40yds. when you approach a burrow the squirrels, one or more, usually set erect on these mounds and make a kind of shrill whistleing nois, something like tweet, tweet, tweet, &c. they do not live on grass as those of the missouri but on roots. one which I examined had in his mouth two small bulbs of a speceis of grass, which resemble very much what is sometimes called the grassnut. the intestins of those little animals are remarkably large for it's size. fur short and very fine.-- the grass in their villages is not cut down as in those of the plains of the missouri. I preserved the skins of several of these animals with the heads feet and legs entire.

It's hard to say how Lewis acquired some of his information. Where, or how, could he have learned the dimensions of the land this squirrels' "ascociations" occupy, either those of the Missouri or those nearby? How could he have known the number of occupants?

A few days later, up on the "quawmash flatts" at Weippe Prairie, several members of the new species were on the captains' dinner menu. "I eat of them," Lewis announced, "and found them quite as tender and well flavoured as our grey squirel." A full-grown Columbian ground squirrel may weigh nearly 30 ounces in the fall, but in May, just having emerged, hungry, from hibernation, Lewis's specimens probably weren't very filling.

They may be tasty, and they may be cute, but ground squirrels today are nuisances in town, where they can puncture sprinkling systems or eat gardens from the bottom up, as well as on the farm, where their mounds can damage farm equipment.

--Joseph Mussulman, 11/04

1. Spermophilus (sper-mo-phil-us) is Latin for "seed lover"; columbianus (co-lum-be-an-us) refers to the Columbia River basin. George Ord (1781-1866) was among the more prominent naturalists of his generation. He was responsible for writing the first scientific taxonomies of several Lewis and Clark specimens, including the grizzly bear, the pronghorn, and the Columbian ground squirrel.

Funded in part by a grant from the Idaho Governor's Lewis and Clark Trail Committee.