The Rodent page has comical images and portraits of Ground Squirrels at Mirror Lake,
Glacier Point and Washburn Point, Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrels from Taft Point, and a
Yellow-Bellied Marmot encountered at Olmsted Point above Tenaya Canyon on the Tioga Road.

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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Yosemite Collection page where a Gallery can be selected.

There are 15 Galleries in the Photoshelter Yosemite Collection

For convenience, Galleries containing the images of Wildlife, Plants,
Sequoia National Park, Bodie Ghost Town, Mono Lake and Mariposa
have been copied to the Yosemite Collection from their normal locations.

Ground Squirrel Full Cheeks Mirror Lake 2431
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A California Ground Squirrel with his cheeks filled with nuts inspects the passing
hikers while perched on the narrow ridge of a boulder near Mirror Lake in March. He
had just come out of his burrow (possibly for the first time, as Spring comes in May).

The California Ground Squirrel is a medium-sized squirrel (the small ones with striped backs
 and faces are Chipmunks, and large ones like the one at the bottom of the page are Marmots).
Prairie Dogs are also in the Ground Squirrel family (you may want to visit the Prairie Dog page).

Ground Squirrel Mirror Lake 2449
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Encountered in late March, when squirrel activities outside of the burrows begin ramping up as spring approaches, he was obviously comfortable with the presence of people.

Ground Squirrel Full Cheeks Mirror Lake 2433
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This little fellow seemed to be coming up with a lot of nuts, and he was packing them away in his cheeks to carry them back to his burrow for later consumption.

Ground Squirrel Full Cheeks Mirror Lake 2437
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He became more comical looking with each passing moment. After a while we began to wonder where he was coming up with these obviously processed almonds.

Ground Squirrel Full Cheeks Mirror Lake 2436c
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A detail crop of our Ground Squirrel friend from a shot framed similar to the full frame shown at left. He would pack these in, dart away for a little while, then return with a couple of nuts. Later, he came back with his cheeks emptied after he had deposited his cache in his burrow (see images below).

Mirror Lake Squirrel Caught in the Act 2795
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Aha! So this is where you were coming up with all of those nuts...

This little guy had found a baggie of nuts in the front pocket of a pack,
and with a well-rehearsed opportunistic technique tore open a corner
of the bag and made off with some. Not satisfied with the nuts stored
in his cheeks, he returned for some more and was caught in the act.

Ground Squirrel Mirror Lake 2447
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A series of close portraits of our hero after he deposited his cache of nuts.
He is far more attractive without the bulging cheeks, but not quite as comical.

Ground Squirrel Mirror Lake 2457
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Our friend hopped up on a boulder to pose for close portraits.

Ground Squirrel Mirror Lake 2460c
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Here he is munching a little berry (no more nuts around).

Ground Squirrel Mirror Lake 2450
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A California Ground Squirrel posing on a boulder near Mirror Lake in late March.

Ground Squirrel Mirror Lake X2183
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Another Ground Squirrel dismembering a nut near Mirror Lake in mid-May.

Ground Squirrel Foraging Glacier Point X6617
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A California Ground Squirrel inspects a leaf while foraging in Autumn at Glacier Point.

Ground Squirrel Foraging Glacier Point X6620
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Apparently, this fellow doesn’t have any packs to dig into. He checks the leaf for nutritional value.

Ground Squirrel Washburn Point 2304
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A Ground Squirrel at Washburn Point in June, relaxing in the shade to avoid the summer heat.

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Yosemite Collection page where a Gallery can be selected.

There are 15 Galleries in the Photoshelter Yosemite Collection

For convenience, Galleries containing the images of Wildlife, Plants,
Sequoia National Park, Bodie Ghost Town, Mono Lake and Mariposa
have been copied to the Yosemite Collection from their normal locations.

Golden Mantle Taft Point Trail X6671c
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Golden Mantle Taft Point Trail X6673
(294 KB)

In the Red Fir forest leading to Taft Point, a Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel peeks above a humus-strewn log.
He darts atop the log for a quick look at the passing hikers, before heading down the trail to gather nesting material.

Golden Mantle Nesting Taft Point Trail X6679
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This was one of the funniest squirrel sequences I have taken. The Golden Mantle scooted over to a clump of grass and began to pack it into his mouth at high speed.

Golden Mantle Nesting Taft Point Trail X6681c
(679 KB)

He was gathering nesting material to insulate his burrow for the coming winter (these were taken in late Autumn, in the latter part of October).

Golden Mantle Nesting Taft Point Trail X6683c
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He would grab a clump of grass, then rapidly stuff it in his mouth, packing and compressing it so he could carry more.

Golden Mantle Nesting Taft Point Trail X6686c
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You would think this mouthful would be adequate, but the little guy decided that there wasn't enough and reached for more.

Golden Mantle Nesting Taft Point Trail X6689c
(539 KB)

This all happened very quickly (the whole sequence took less than a minute), and
I was hard-pressed to get the shots as I was quaking with laughter the entire time.

Golden Mantle Nesting Taft Point Trail X6691c
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Here is our intrepid Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel with a mouthful
of grass, just before he took it back to his burrow to make his winter nest.
He didn’t get much more in, but he certainly did give it the old college try.

Golden Mantle Taft Point 3437c
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A Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel at Taft Point in the spring. This little fellow was standing atop a granite boulder eating a flower when he saw us approaching and instantly threw down the flower to begin his "aren't I cute?" routine to get some nuts.  Anyone with a cat knows how effective this routine can be, and apparently this little guy has had quite a lot of practice.

Golden Mantle Taft Point 3438c
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Golden Mantle Taft Point 3441
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Golden Mantle Taft Point 3445
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A Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel, munching a nut atop a granite boulder at Taft Point.

The Golden Mantle is a type of ground squirrel found in mountainous regions of the West.
Like the chipmunk, it has stripes on its back, but it has no facial stripes and is generally
larger than the chipmunk (a large chipmunk is about the size of a small Golden Mantle).
They have a russet to golden-brown mantle over the head and shoulders, thus the name.

Golden Mantle Taft Point 3447c
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The Golden Mantle emerges from its burrow in April or May at these altitudes
(Taft Point is at 7500 feet, and snow covers the area until April in most years,
sometimes until mid-May). This fellow had probably been out of his burrow
for less than a month when we encountered him in the latter part of May.

Golden Mantle Taft Point 3448
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Golden Mantle Taft Point 3453c
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A detail crop from an image framed like the one at left.

A Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel munches a nut atop a granite boulder at Taft Point on the Yosemite Rim.

Golden Mantle Taft Point 3459c
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Our little friend went right back to his “aren’t I cute?” routine after finishing his nut. I love his astonished look shown at right. Images with a “c” in the shot number are detail crops.

Golden Mantle Taft Point 3461
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The astonished look is part of his "aren't I cute?" routine.

Golden Mantle Taft Point 3464c
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In payment for the sequence of shots, I gave the little fellow a cashew. This was one happy squirrel.

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Yosemite Collection page where a Gallery can be selected.

There are 15 Galleries in the Photoshelter Yosemite Collection

For convenience, Galleries containing the images of Wildlife, Plants,
Sequoia National Park, Bodie Ghost Town, Mono Lake and Mariposa
have been copied to the Yosemite Collection from their normal locations.

Marmot Tioga Pass 3143c
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A Yellow-Bellied Marmot at Olmsted Point on the Tioga Road. The Yellow-Bellied Marmot is a giant ground squirrel about the size of a small dog. Also known as the Rock Chuck, they dig their burrows under rocks to hide them from predators.

Marmot Tioga Pass 3146c
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Yellow-Bellied Marmot at Olmsted Point in the Tioga Pass.

Marmot Tioga Pass 3149c
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A Yellow-Bellied Marmot peeks from between the rocks at Olmsted Point in the Tioga Pass.

Yellow-Bellied Marmots live mostly at higher altitudes. Olmsted Point, named for the landscape
architect Frederick Law Olmsted, overlooks Tenaya Canyon from the Tioga Road at 8400 feet.

Olmsted designed public parks such as Central Park in New York City, the grounds of the US Capitol,
private grounds such as the Biltmore Estate, the master plans for UC Berkeley and Stanford University,
and as the first head of the Commission appointed to manage the Yosemite Grant he was responsible
for the early work done to preserve Yosemite. He was the founder of American landscape architecture.

Marmot Tioga Pass 3151
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A Yellow-Bellied Marmot poses for a profile portrait at Olmsted Point on the Tioga Road.

Marmot Tioga Pass 3152c
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A detail crop of a Yellow-Bellied Marmot peeking from between rocks at Olmsted Point.

Marmot Tioga Pass 3153
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Marmot Tioga Pass 3155
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A Yellow-Bellied Marmot crossing the bright granite rocks at Olmsted Point on the Tioga Road.

Marmot Tioga Pass 3157
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The Marmot poses for a portrait while overlooking Tenaya Canyon from his granite perch.

Marmot Tioga Pass 3167
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Finally, curious about the clicking sound, the Marmot came over to the rock wall directly
below me to inspect the strange human who had been watching with the big glass eye.

Yellow-Bellied Marmot Tioga Pass
(753 KB)

An 1127 x 1200 version of the Yellow-Bellied Marmot Composite.

The full-sized XL version of the composite is 2464 x 2730.

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Yosemite Collection page where a Gallery can be selected.

There are 15 Galleries in the Photoshelter Yosemite Collection

For convenience, Galleries containing the images of Wildlife, Plants,
Sequoia National Park, Bodie Ghost Town, Mono Lake and Mariposa
have been copied to the Yosemite Collection from their normal locations.

Click the Display Composite above to visit the Yosemite Deer and Birds page

Click the Display Composite above to visit the Yosemite Select page