{"id":140238,"date":"2025-09-07T21:45:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-07T21:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/140238\/"},"modified":"2025-09-07T21:45:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-07T21:45:08","slug":"13-lined-ground-squirrels-inspired-umns-goldy-gopher-and-they-are-actually-badger-prey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/140238\/","title":{"rendered":"13-lined ground squirrels inspired UMN’s Goldy Gopher, and they are actually badger prey"},"content":{"rendered":"

While it\u2019s easy to see the University of Minnesota\u2019s toothy mascot, Goldy, out and about for Golden Gophers fall sports, not many residents know about or have seen the mammal credited with inspiring<\/a> Minnesota\u2019s Gopher State moniker. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the kicker: It\u2019s not really a gopher either, although people will call it a striped gopher. Technically, Goldy looks more like a 13-lined ground squirrel, which is slightly larger and sleeker than an eastern chipmunk and more closely related to those chubby-cheeked critters. <\/p>\n

To see 13-lined ground squirrels in the wild, be stealthy and watch for them during daylight on prairies, roadsides and grassy open areas such as golf courses and cemeteries in all but far northeastern Minnesota. <\/p>\n

This time of year, they\u2019re busy feasting on grass seeds, vegetation, caterpillars, grasshoppers, beetles and other insects and larvae that help them double their weight to survive winter. As winter nears, they will seal the holes to their burrows and head below the frost line to hibernate until spring.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A 13-lined ground squirrel (Lisa Meyers McClintick\/For the Minnesota Star Tribune)<\/p>\n

Most 13-lined ground squirrels measure about 11 inches long, including their tails of 3 to 5 inches. They are most distinguishable by their stripes, some of which are dotted. The patterns and colors help them blend in with grasses and vegetation, especially when it\u2019s dry and brown in the spring and fall.<\/p>\n

The majority of young ground squirrels born this year won\u2019t survive long enough to experience their first winter because they will become prey to prowling badgers, snakes, coyotes, bobcats, hawks and more. Those that survive don\u2019t stray far from their underground burrows, which can be up to 20 feet long with multiple passages. You might hear them trill an alarm call right before they dive for safety. <\/p>\n

The 13-lined ground squirrel differs from Minnesota\u2019s burlier and more troublesome plains pocket gopher, which leaves telltale mounds of dirt on lawns and in fields. <\/p>\n

Pocket gophers were the No. 1 target for Minnesota\u2019s gopher bounties, a tradition started more than 100 years ago to control their population in agricultural areas. Residents in the far northwestern counties may encounter the northern pocket gopher, but it\u2019s considered a rare species by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While it\u2019s easy to see the University of Minnesota\u2019s toothy mascot, Goldy, out and about for Golden Gophers…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":140239,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[79,201],"class_list":{"0":"post-140238","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140238\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}