User:Ashleyysalim/Round-tailed ground squirrel

Behavior
Ground squirrels are well-adapted to desert life. They can stay active even on the hottest of days, although they do tend to limit their activity during the heat of the afternoon sun. They live underground in the winter, typically from late August or September until January or February. They go into torpor, but do not hibernate.

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Ground squirrels are well-adapted to desert life, as they mainly reside in the desert regions of the southwestern United States, northeastern Baja California, and northwestern Mexico, specifically in the state of Sonora.

Males are active first in late January as they start mating in March. Ground squirrels' activity cycle makes them not aggressive or competitive. Their main activities include caring for newborn, finding better protection for their resources, and reducing predation. They chase each other and nuzzle each other.

The greatest predator of the ground squirrel is a snake--the type of snake varying by the locality. As a result, ground squirrels have evolved to perform anti-snake displays to defend themselves. These squirrels tend to be put on a prominent display, specifically by moving their tail back-and-forth horizontally. They also approach the predator and sometimes kick some dirt at the snake.

Social structure
They have a semi-colonial social structure, and will alert others of impending danger with a high-pitched alarm call. But they will chase away other ground squirrels who get too close to their own burrow. The males are dominant during the breeding season (January through March). The females dominate during the raising of the young (March and April).

The squirrels will interact with each other no matter the age or gender of each other, and more so with what members of the population they do meet, however, males tend to initiate more contact with members of their population during breeding season, and female members initiated more contact during their pregnancy and lactating periods. Juveniles in the summer months, receive more attention from their peers as well. Females interact with their kin and offspring more so than non-kin or related members of the population.

In terms of dominance, male and female dominance tips throughout the year, with more male victories likely to occur in January through March, and more female victories likely to occur March through April, and most adult squirrels win dominance battles over juveniles for dominance.

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Round-tailed ground squirrels were originally believed to be solitary creatures. However, recent studies suggest that they may have a matrilineal population structure with more socialization than anticipated. This means that round-tailed ground squirrels may have a greater tendency to socialize within familial groups of female squirrels.

Lifecycle
The gestation period is 28 days. An average of 5.4 pups are born in each litter. They reach sexual maturity at 325 days. There is little information on the longevity of these animals but one wild born specimen lived to approximately 8.9 years in captivity. They are prey animals for coyotes, badgers, hawks and snakes.

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Round-tailed ground-squirrels have also been found with the Coccidian parasite Eimeria vilasi, normally found in other rodents and Old World marmotine rodents.