ground squirrel
noun
: any of various burrowing North American and Eurasian rodents (especially genus Spermophilus) of the squirrel family that often live in colonies especially in open areas (such as grasslands)
called also spermophile
Examples of ground squirrel in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Take San Timoteo Canyon, a river valley near the San Bernardino County city of Redlands offering all the creature comforts rattlesnakes need to multiply and prosper: rock outcrops on which to bask in the sun, thickets of vegetation for camouflage, and loads of ground squirrels to feed on.
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Louis Sahagún, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2024
Scientists with the project compared DNA sequences from 240 species of mammals that exist today, including horses, humans, ground squirrels, and even Balto the sled dog, the famed husky who helped deliver lifesaving medications in Alaska in 1925.
—Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 26 Dec. 2023
Alternative gem: Cold Springs Campground is less than a mile from Lost Valley Reservoir, which offers strong fishing and a chance to see the rare Northern Idaho ground squirrel.
—Chadd Cripe, Idaho Statesman, 31 Jan. 2024
The holes also are too small for gophers, moles and ground squirrels.
—Joan Morris, The Mercury News, 29 Jan. 2024
An Alutiiq tailor needed around 100 ground squirrels for one parka, more precious than a sea otter cloak.
—WIRED, 26 Aug. 2023
Arctic ground squirrels, for example, hibernate for more than half the year, drastically lowering their metabolic rate and body temperature.
—Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Dec. 2023
Researchers have found that as the freeze and thaw of the Arctic landscape has changed over the past 25 years, the hardy Arctic ground squirrel’s hibernation patterns are adapting.
—Sean Mowbray, Discover Magazine, 26 Dec. 2023
Other studies have found that female Arctic ground squirrels are leaving their hibernation burrows earlier in the spring, that African wild dogs are giving birth three weeks later than normal and that puffins are changing their diets to the detriment of their chicks, for example.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Nov. 2023
Louis Sahagún, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2024
Scientists with the project compared DNA sequences from 240 species of mammals that exist today, including horses, humans, ground squirrels, and even Balto the sled dog, the famed husky who helped deliver lifesaving medications in Alaska in 1925.
—Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 26 Dec. 2023
Alternative gem: Cold Springs Campground is less than a mile from Lost Valley Reservoir, which offers strong fishing and a chance to see the rare Northern Idaho ground squirrel.
—Chadd Cripe, Idaho Statesman, 31 Jan. 2024
The holes also are too small for gophers, moles and ground squirrels.
—Joan Morris, The Mercury News, 29 Jan. 2024
An Alutiiq tailor needed around 100 ground squirrels for one parka, more precious than a sea otter cloak.
—WIRED, 26 Aug. 2023
Arctic ground squirrels, for example, hibernate for more than half the year, drastically lowering their metabolic rate and body temperature.
—Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Dec. 2023
Researchers have found that as the freeze and thaw of the Arctic landscape has changed over the past 25 years, the hardy Arctic ground squirrel’s hibernation patterns are adapting.
—Sean Mowbray, Discover Magazine, 26 Dec. 2023
Other studies have found that female Arctic ground squirrels are leaving their hibernation burrows earlier in the spring, that African wild dogs are giving birth three weeks later than normal and that puffins are changing their diets to the detriment of their chicks, for example.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Nov. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ground squirrel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Ground squirrel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ground%20squirrel. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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