Discover the Intriguing World of Ground Squirrels: Top 5 Entertaining Facts You Never Knew!

1. Tiny Excavator Mansions

Move over, real estate moguls; nature's got its own tiny excavators crafting multi-chamber mansions that reach literal ground-breaking lengths: The California ground squirrel, for example, can dig individual burrows up to 30 feet long while their colony complexes can span hundreds of yards.
Source => a-z-animals.com

2. Built-in Squirrel Rolex

Who needs a Rolex when you're a ground squirrel? These furry critters have their own built-in timepieces that don't miss a beat: Ground squirrels possess strong daily rhythms of physiology and behavior, adjusting smoothly to constant daylight in polar environments, and avoiding the dreaded "jet lag" due to their low expression of arginine vasopressin in the suprachiasmatic nucleus.
Source => journals.biologists.com

Did you know polar bears have their own secret language? Discover how they use head wags, droopy noses, and even roaring to communicate with each other! 🐾👋🗯️

=> Fun Facts about Polar-Bears

3. 75-Yard Grocery Run

Talk about a well-seasoned diet: California ground squirrels munch on green grasses and herbaceous plants after hibernation, then switch to seeds, grains, and nuts as the plants dry up, all within a 75-yard grocery run from their cozy burrow.
Source => ipm.ucanr.edu

4. Hibernation Maestros

Ever had trouble nodding off in the presence of a sleep-expert ground squirrel? Fret not, for these hibernation maestros have a different understanding of a bedtime routine: During their 8-month hibernation, they're not actually asleep the whole time, but rather experience radically altered sleep patterns, including only 10% REM sleep with classic sleep stages becoming unidentifiable as brain temperature drops.
Source => pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

5. Squirrel Savings Bank

Squirrel Savings Bank, where nuts earn zero interest: Ground squirrels cleverly stash their food in secret caches or middens, like a hoarder with a hidden pantry, to make sure they're well-fed and toasty during those frosty winter months.
Source => kittycitysquirrels.com