March 19
Sheryl and I celebrated our 31st Anniversary yesterday with a great meal, a great bottle of wine and two amazing kids.
Today’s picture is a recent one from our Alberta mini safari. Miniature in its extent and its animals. Each spring the adult male Richardson Ground Squirrels (commonly called gophers) are the first to emerge from their burrows. They begin to fattening up and to fight for territory. The females will wake up about two weeks later and then they will pair up. The adult males return to their burrows in June and will hibernate for 8 months. The adult females return to their burrows in July, the juvenile females in late August and the young males stay out until October.
Connor and I traveled north of Edmonton about 40 minutes for our home to a farmer’s filed that was full of male gophers. They engaged in short but intense duration battles. These battles can be fatal for some. We witnessed individuals with blood on their faces.
It would be extremely difficult to video as they run quickly across the field to attack each other , then scuffle and then retreat. It was exciting to watch, even if it was miniature.
Stay Well !