I have found the secret desert level for #squirrelsunday
I was fortunate enough to see some baby round-tailed ground squirrels emerging from their burrow in Arizona.
Here is a really little one, they were quite clumsy at this early age.
They have to look for various seeds and plant matter to eat. I'm not sure this young one really knows what to eat in the outside world just yet.
The older ones were staying near the burrow.
Here is one of the full grown adults. These round-tailed ground squirrels are communal like prairie dogs and hang around together in burrow networks. I'm sure all the adults were keeping an eye on the young ones emerging for the first time.
The only other critters nearby were some desert cottontails. Their big ears will pick out any potential predators.
Desert cottontail rabbits are very common and they are a favored food for many different predators. They get eaten by hawks, snakes, coyotes and foxes. They have multiple litters a year and without the predators they would be all over the place. Fortunately the ground squirrels will probably not be chosen by a predator because this plump rabbit is nearby.
Here is a different kind of rabbit, actually a hare. This one is an antelope jackrabbit. They are about twice the size of the desert cottontails. I could only get the giant ears of this one before it bolted.
That's all for now happy #squirrelsunday
Awesome photos! The super cute baby and adult round-tailed ground squirrels look like some kind of new designer hybrid species that's a love child cross of a red squirrel and a chipmunk!🐿
Both of the rabbits are adorable. I recall reading somewhere that the antelope jackrabbit's ears evolved to be large to help cool them down in the brutal heat.🐇
I hope you are having an enjoyable end of the year!💫
Happy holidays! @sketch.and.jam
Their ears can definitely cast some shade in the desert. If you stand directly in front of them they are blind. I've had them walk right up to me because I was in their blind spot.
Thanks @qurator and @ackhoo :-)
You're very welcome! :)
Great, your portrait is very impressive mate
Just have to be in the right place at the right time.
🙌🙌🙌
thanks :-)
You got some great shots of the young squirrel and the cottontail. That’s a different looking squirrel than what I’ve seen. The ears are smaller.
Yeah I suspect they need little ears to be able to crawl around underground in their tunnels.
Amazing 🤗
Thanks for looking :-)
I read it from the first, when you mentioned the squirrel, I was curious, why is this squirrel beautiful in my opinion. Apparently when I was ready to read it, I just knew it was a rabbit , Because in my area rabbits and squirrels are very different. Thank you for sharing a very good post.
The rabbits were a bonus find next to the ground squirrels.
yes brother. very beautiful looking.
We appreciate your work and your post has been manually curated by zoology team (oscurity,nelinoeva) on behalf of Amazing Nature Community. Keep up the good work!
Thanks guys :-)