Most all North Dakotans are familiar with the flickertail or Richardson’s ground squirrel. They are quite common over most areas of the state north and east of the Missouri River. And of course, North Dakota is occasionally referred to as the “Flickertail State.”
But occasionally, particularly in and near the eastern border counties, a ground squirrel may be observed that may resemble a flickertail but is disconcertingly larger and darker colored, with a bushier tail. That is probably a Franklin’s ground squirrel.
The Franklin’s ground squirrel is a species of the grassland and forest edges or openings. Their native range is roughly Iowa, Minnesota, the eastern portions of Nebraska and the Dakotas, then northwest in the grassland regions of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Here in North Dakota it ranges over much of the state north and east of the Missouri River.
Unlike the Richardson’s ground squirrel which prefers a shorter and more open grassland, particularly if it is more heavily grazed, the Franklin’s ground squirrel prefers a taller denser, and more lightly utilized grassland. The Franklin’s is also not as abundant as the Richardson’s in our region. Plus, it is also less conspicuous in its behavior. As a result, we are generally not as familiar with this species, although it may be quite common in some localities.
Richardson’s ground squirrels may be described as a smaller version of a prairie dog. They are a cinnamon-buff color with lighter undersides. They weigh-in at around half a pound, and a total length of about a foot, with a about a 3 inch tail. Franklin’s on the other hand have a gray coat with the back and sides are mixture of dark and light speckled fur, pale underside, and a noticeably bushy tail that is around 5 inches long. They weigh in at around a pound, twice that of the Richardson’s. Actually, the Franklin’s ground squirrel is more frequently compared to gray squirrels than the Richardson’s ground squirrel.
So who is this ground squirrel named after? Ben Franklin might be your first guess, but that is not it. Joseph Sabine, an English naturalist of the late 1700’s and early 1800’s was the first person to describe the species to science in 1822. He named it Poliocitellus franklinii after Sir John Franklin the British arctic explorer who is perhaps best known for perishing, along with his crew, while searching for the Northwest Passage in the 1840’s.
So the next time you see that a large gray ground squirrel with a noticeably bushy tail, be thinking Franklin’s ground squirrel.
Chuck Lura
Natural North Dakota is supported by NDSU Central Grasslands Research Extension Center and Dakota College at Bottineau, and by the members of Prairie Public. Thanks to Sunny 101.9 in Bottineau for their recording services.
