#abert squirrel

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Commission for @shouldergod!

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[ainawgsd]

Rodents of North America illustrated by Louis Agassiz Fuertes. 

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Ahhh, today's Sunday! Which means..tomorrows Monday... :( 

Species: Abert Squirrel (pronounced A-bear)

They originate in Southern Colorado, the Rocky Mountains, Arizona, and New Mexico. These squirrels love love ponderosa pines, they use it for nesting and food. These fellas are also known as the tassel-eared squirrels because they have a small tuft of hair on top of both of their ears. I actually think they're very pretty, ranging from colors of red to gray to black, with most of the time a white underbelly and a big bushy tail. They sometimes lose the tufts of hair during the summer time, not completely, but the tufts tend to get smaller. During mating season, the female is followed by a small group of males and usually have one to five babies. These squirrels do not hibernate, they are active all year long. And during cold weather, they will mostly stay in their nests and only leave for food. And the Abert's found in Colorado, appear to be black. The predators of these squirrels are mostly hawks, and of course some larger carnivores, such as foxes, coyotes, and bobcats. A weird fact, unlike North American squirrels they do not store food.