Soon after they appear in spring they mate and the single litter of the year, containing from five to thirteen young, is born the last of May or early in June. The young are in an extremely undeveloped state at birth, being blind, hairless, and with the ears scarcely showing. They develop slowly and remain with the mother until toward fall, when, nearly grown, they scatter to care for themselves. The striped ground squirrels are among the most carnivorous of rodents. Although they devote much time to gathering grain, seeds of various kinds, and even acorns and other nuts, which may be eaten on the spot or carried in their cheek pouches to their underground storage rooms, in addition they are known to eat insects and flesh whenever occasion offers. In fact, during seasons when such insect food as grasshoppers, caterpillars, and grubs is plentiful, these ground squirrels frequently feed mainly upon it. They are known to kill and devour mice and young birds, and when confined in a cage will sometimes kill and partly devour their own kind. When caught they fight fiercely, biting and struggling to escape. In captivity they show little of the gentleness and intelligence which are such pleasing characteristics of chipmunks and true squirrels. =THE CALIFORNIA GROUND SQUIRREL= (=Citellus beecheyi= and its relatives) (_For illustration, see page 539_) Owing to its habits, the California ground squirrel is known locally as the digger-, rock-, or ground-squirrel. Its prominent ears, bushy tail, color, and form give it the general appearance of a heavy-bodied gray tree squirrel, but in reality it is a true, spermophile and close kin to the marmots. [Illustration: GOLDEN CHIPMUNK _Callospermophilus lateralis chrysodeirus_] [Illustration: EASTERN CHIPMUNK _Tamias striatus_] Spermophiles are nearly circumpolar in distribution, ranging through northern lands from central Europe across Bering Strait to the Great Lakes in North America. Many species exist in North America, varying greatly in form, size, and color. They occur mainly in the western part of the continent from the Arctic coast of Alaska to the southern end of the Mexican table-land. Some species are represented by enormous numbers and do great injury to cultivated crops. Among the larger and best known of the injurious species, the California ground squirrel, with its several geographic races, occupies most of the Pacific coast region from Oregon to Lower California. It has a broad vertical distribution, extending from the seashore to about 10,000 feet altitude on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada in California, and thrives under contrasting climatic conditions, as the humid northwest coast region and the most arid deserts of Lower California. [Illustration: OREGON CHIPMUNK _Eutamias townsendi_] [Illustration: PAINTED CHIPMUNK _Eutamias minimus pictus_]