How to identify it
Golden-red mantle covering the head and shoulders (brighter in males, duller and grayer in winter pelage). [1][2][3]
One white stripe bordered by two black stripes along each side of the body, like a chipmunk, but no facial stripes; instead a whitish eye ring. [1][2][3]
Back gray, brownish or buff; underside whitish or yellowish-gray; tail brownish-black above and reddish-brown below. [1][2][3]
Weighs roughly 120-394 g and is about 235-295 mm long. [1][2][3]
Compared with the chipmunks (tamias spp.): Chipmunks have a white stripe through the eye; the golden-mantled ground squirrel has no facial striping and a golden-red head and mantle. [1][2][3]
Compared with the cascade golden-mantled ground squirrel (callospermophilus saturatus): Formerly included in this species (NatureServe); the sources read give no field character to separate them. [1][2][3]
Where it lives
Mountain slopes and foothills, alpine tundra, chaparral, open pine, spruce and fir forest, rocky outcrops and slides, meadow margins and rocky sagebrush country, reaching greatest abundance in open forest lacking dense understory; needs logs, stumps or rocks for cover, and is often at campgrounds. [1][2][3]
How it behaves
Diurnal, active mainly March-November at low elevations with a shorter season in snowy high mountains; hibernates roughly October to April. [1][2][3]
Asocial: females defend a burrow and surrounding area; burrows are under rocks, stumps, logs, trees, bushes or cabins, or in rock crevices or banks. [1][2][3]
Omnivore eating seeds, fungus (about 65% of summer food in one study), leaves, flowers, fruits, roots, insects and carrion; carries food in cheek pouches and caches it. [1][2][3]
Forages on the ground and in logs, stumps and shrubby vegetation. [1][2][3]
Take status not established
North Ground has not established meaningful legal take of this species. That is a gap in the evidence, not a finding that it is protected or that it is open.
Where it is found
Western North America from eastern British Columbia and western Alberta south through the western United States to California, Arizona and New Mexico, at roughly 1,220-3,965 m.
Sources
Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.
NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30
NatureServe
University of Michigan Museum of Zoology · reviewed 2026-09-30
University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station (PSW-GTR-37) · reviewed 2026-09-30
U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station (PSW-GTR-37)