Mammals of the Southwest Mountains and MesasOlin, George
Science
Mammals of the Southwest Mountains and Mesas
Olin, George
Mammals -- Southwest, New
One’s first introduction to this beautiful species is an experience long
to be remembered. It was no less interesting to the early naturalists
who first penetrated the wild regions where it lived. Their accounts
abound with adjectives such as, “handsome,” “graceful,” etc. Dr. S. W.
Woodhouse, who accompanied the Sitgreaves expedition on the exploration
of the Zuni and Colorado Rivers, noticed it at once and formally
described it as a species in 1852. Since that time it has been
introduced into many of the “sky island,” mountains that lie south of
its original range. It adapts very well to new conditions, seeming to
need only a favorable climate and a ponderosa pine forest in which to
live. What effect its presence will have on these new surroundings is
not yet known. There is always danger that the native plants and animals
will suffer from such new competition in an established association.
Such introductions should never be made without a study of all the
factors involved.
Kaibab squirrel
_Sciurus kaibabensis_ (Latin: shade-tail ... from the Kaibab, a forest
in northern Arizona)
Range: An area approximately 30 × 70 miles in size in northern Arizona.
The southern limit is bounded by the north rim of the Grand Canyon of
the Colorado, and much of the range is included within the boundaries of
Grand Canyon National Park.
[Illustration: Habitat map]
Habitat: Ponderosa pine forests in Canadian and upper Transition Life
Zones.
Description: A tassel-eared squirrel with an _all white_ tail. In size
this species is the same as _Sciurus_ _aberti_ but the coloration is
different. The Kaibab squirrel has the same rich, chestnut brown area
along the back and upper part of the head, but the sides are deep gray
and underparts gray to black. The tail is either all silvery white or it
may have barely discernible light gray edging on the upper surface.
Nesting and breeding habits are the same as with _aberti_.
[Illustration: Kaibab squirrel]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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