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Wyoming ground squirrel

Urocitellus elegans · Squirrels · Small game

Wyoming ground squirrel (Urocitellus elegans): Body 254-381 mm; 255-397 g. Brown back with gray on shoulders, neck and head; sides and belly somewhat yellowish. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and dateOpen the wyoming ground squirrel map

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Scientific name
Urocitellus elegans
Family
Sciuridae
In North America
Native
Range
Interior western US in three isolated areas: southeastern Oregon (formerly), southwestern Idaho and north-central Nevada; northeastern Idaho and southwestern Montana; northeastern Utah, southern Wyoming, northern Colorado and extreme western Nebraska.
Biology

How to identify it

Body 254-381 mm; 255-397 g. [1][2]

Brown back with gray on shoulders, neck and head; sides and belly somewhat yellowish. [1][2]

Eyes outlined by a white ring; ears larger than typical ground squirrels. [1][2]

Lacks dorsal stripes and spots; short tail (59-79 mm) coloured like the back; large claws. [1][2]

Field knowledge

Where it lives

Well-drained upland slopes of dry grassland or shrub steppe (especially sagebrush) with loose sandy soil; mountain meadows and talus slopes from 1,500 m to above timberline. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Very vocal: chirp and churr alarm calls; flicks the tail in aggression [1][2]

One of the least social ground squirrels [1][2]

Emerges from hibernation in early spring; dormant again from late July to early September [1][2]

Eats seeds, flowers, stems, leaves and roots; insects in late summer; sometimes carrion [1][2]

Regulatory handoff

Where it is listed for legal take

These authorities list this species for legal take in their own regulations.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Interior western US in three isolated areas: southeastern Oregon (formerly), southwestern Idaho and north-central Nevada; northeastern Idaho and southwestern Montana; northeastern Utah, southern Wyoming, northern Colorado and extreme western Nebraska.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology · reviewed 2026-09-30

    University of Michigan Museum of Zoology