CAPE GROUND SQUIRREL IV

If you find it amusing – and dare I say ‘cute’ – to watch vervet monkeys foraging for food and reacting with each other, then spend a little time watching a colony of Cape Ground Squirrels (Xerus inauris). These animals are endemic to southern Africa and I have always enjoyed looking out for them in the Mountain Zebra National Park as this drier part of the country is a natural home for them.  They have little need for fresh water as they tend to get sufficient moisture from the food they eat – more of that later. There is a particular sandy section of the road where the countryside is flat and almost featureless – except for the tiny mounds of soil that are the only sign of the myriad holes that lead to tunnels used by these squirrels. This squirrel is standing next to one of these escape holes: should there be any alarm, these little creatures can disappear in a flash, leaving the place looking empty and featureless.

Watching them in sections other than this particular road in the park, as well as in other national parks such as the Kruger National Park, one can see them going about their normal daily business of looking for food. This one, with its long tail stretched out, seemingly on the alert either in case of something alarming – or for any sign of food.

You have to agree that these squirrels can adopt a very appealing stance.

Here is one covering its back with its tail. This is an act one often comes across in particularly hot places, such as the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, where squirrels do this to protect themselves from the sun – it can also be used to distract potential predators.

Do not be fooled by these photographs of single animals for these are gregarious creatures that reside together in large numbers. This pair is near an escape hole which would lead into a burrow. Such burrows shield them from the harmful effects of extreme weather conditions and predation (particularly by Black-backed Jackals). The Cape Ground Squirrels move in and out of their burrows during the hottest part of the day as another means of regulating their body temperature.

Back to their feeding habits though. Unlike other squirrels, the Cape Ground Squirrels do not hoard food, but forage daily. This usually consists of bulbs, wild fruits, grasses, herbs and insects: a healthy, varied diet you might agree. What concerns me is that in the area of this particularly sandy stretch of road these animals have obviously become used to being fed by humans. The minute you stop your vehicle, they come bounding across the veld and literally stand on their hind legs and beg for food in a most appealing manner.

The problem is that while what they are given might be tasty and save them the bother of foraging, it is seldom healthy: there were signs of potato crisps, bread and biscuits left on the ground by visitors who must have been just ahead of us on this particular drive. This cannot be a healthy situation.