Arctic Ground Squirrel

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iArctic Ground Squirrel
Conservation status
Least concern (LR/lc)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Class: Mammalia Order: Rodentia Family: Sciuridae Genus: Spermophilus Species: S. parryii
Binomial name
Spermophilus parryii Richardson, 1825
Subspecies
S. parryii ablusus S. parryii kennicotti S. parryii kodiacensis S. parryii lyratus S. parryii nebulicola S. parryii plesius

The Arctic Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus parryii) is a species of ground squirrel native to the Arctic.

[edit] Background

Called Siksiks by the Inuits, the Arctic Ground Squirrels live in colonies and are the only Arctic animals that hibernate. In the spring and summer they forage for tundra plants, seeds and fruit to increase body fat for their winter hibernation. By late summer they begin to store food in their burrows so that in the spring they will have edible food until the new vegetation has grown.

The burrows are lined with lichens, leaves and musk ox hair. During hibernation their body temperature drops to just above freezing and their heartbeat drops.

[edit] References

• Cook (2000). Spermophilus parryii. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.