1330. Tamiasciurus hudsonicus (Red Squirrel). Individual seen scampering on the ground in a small grove of conifers. Subsequently the animal climbed up to a tree branch and stayed there for the duration of the observation.
[Tamiasciurus hudsonicus, Red Squirrel, University of Alberta campus, 26 April 2010. Photo taken by J. Liu with a Nokia 7610s 3.2 megapixel cell phone camera]Observer: Juan Liu (University of Alberta).
Red squirrels are smaller in size compared to the common fox (non-native) and gray squirrels of California (as small as half the size of the California ones). The summer pelage of Tamiasciurus hudsonicus has a clear black strip on the boundary between the brownish dorsal fur and white underfur.
They are the most common animals seen on the University of Alberta campus, along with the white-tailed jackrabbit Lepus townsendii and the black-billed magpie Pica hudsonia.
Natural history information taken from http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu
~Jack
