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What follows are the species profiles of mammals that are found in and around agricultural fields in the Cannon River Watershed. Each species listed includes the description, the status (including range), and the natural and agricultural roles of the mammal. The most abundant mammals, or those with the greatest impacts, will also be listed in each section. |
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Squirrels/Chipmunks |
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In natural ecosystems, squirrels and chipmunks serve vital roles as insect and vertebrate predators, grazers, seed dispersers, and prey. Overall they are generalized feeders, and serve many roles in agriculture. While squirrels and chipmunks can inflict crop damage, they also serve as vital predators on insect populations. Most avoid inhabiting farmland, preferring wooded or grassy edges. The species with the greatest potential impact on agriculture in the Cannon River Watershed is probably the 13-lined ground squirrel, although the eastern chipmunk, Franklin's ground squirrel, and the woodchuck are also of note. |
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Woodchuck (Ground Hog) - Marmota monax
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| Description |
The total length of the woodchuck is around 536cm (501-594), with a tail around 117cm (95-104), making it Minnesota's largest squirrel. It has short ears, short legs, and a somewhat bushy tail. Most woodchucks have a mottled salt-and-pepper coloring on the back and sides, reddish brown undersides and legs, and black feet. |
| Status |
The woodchuck is a common species near woodlands (coniferous and
deciduous), and is seldom found far from this habitat. |
| Natural Role |
The woodchuck is essentially a herbivore, feeding primarily on green vegetation such as grasses, forbs, clover, and herbs in the summer, and bark and buds in the winter. They rarely eat bird eggs or insects. They often are prey for coyotes or large predatory birds. |
| Agricultural Role |
Woodchucks can be serious agricultural pests. They have been known to girdle trees in orchards, but their primary danger is from their immense burrows. These burrows can harm livestock if stepped upon, break machinery, and possibly even harbor meadow vole populations (Swihart and Picone, 1995). |
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13-Lined Ground Squirrel - Spermophilus tridecemlineatus
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| Description |
The total length of the 13-lined ground squirrel is around 282cm (258-297), with a tail around 93cm (75-102). The common and scientific names of this animal describe the 13 stripes that run down the length of its back, making it unlikely to be confused with any other animal. It has seven narrow pale yellow stripes alternating with six broad dark brown stripes, each brown stripe containing a row of pale yellow dots down the middle. |
| Status |
The 13-lined ground squirrel is quite common in the open areas (prairie, fields, and agricultural lands) of Minnesota and the central United States. |
| Natural Role |
While the majority of the 13-lined ground squirrels diet is seeds, it is a true omnivore, eating
herbaceous
plants, trees, shrubs, as well as many insects, and small mammals. It is often eaten by birds of prey. |
| Agricultural Role |
The 13-lined ground squirrel has the potential to impact agriculture by eating seeds and crops, although it also has the ability to benefit agriculture by eating pest insects, such as grasshoppers, cutworms, and cabbage butterfly larvae. A study by Clark and Young (1986) did not find that 13-lined ground squirrel damage to no-till cornfields was economically significant. |
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Franklin's Ground Squirrel - Spermophilus franklinii
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| Description |
The total length of Franklin's ground squirrel is around 374cm (333-562), with a tail around 127cm (110-135). Its pelage on the back and sides is a speckled or barred gray, usually with an olive cast. The head is more of a solid gray, and the underside will vary from yellowish white to shades of gray. It resembles the gray squirrel, but has a shorter, less bushy tail, and shorter ears. |
| Status |
Franklin's ground squirrel is relatively rare throughout the Midwest United States, and south central Canada, and is listed as endangered in Iowa and a species of special concern in Wisconsin. It is probably only uncommon in Minnesota and inhabits partially wooded or brushy areas. |
| Natural Role |
This ground squirrel is truly omnivorous, eating seeds, vegetation, insects, birds, voles, mice, and many other animals. They serve as dispersers of seeds and can help keep various animal populations in check. |
| Agricultural Role |
Franklin's ground squirrel probably isn't abundant enough to be of much concern. It can be a nuisance to farmers and gardeners, but it can also help keep other pest species in check. |
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Eastern Chipmunk - Tamias striatus
| Description |
The total length of the eastern chipmunk is around 260cm (250-272), with a tail around 101cm (93-106). This chipmunk has five dark brown stripes running down its back and sides, separated by four lighter stripes. The rump lacks stripes, but is instead a solid brownish or reddish yellow. |
| Status |
It is a common species amidst woodland and brushland, especially around human-made structures, only in the eastern half of the United States. |
| Natural Role |
The eastern chipmunk has a very varied diet, primarily eating buds, seeds, acorns, and fruits, but also mushrooms and insects. They serve as important prey items for a variety of carnivores. Chipmunks can also be important seed dispersers. |
| Agricultural Role |
Eastern chipmunks can be pests on farms, in the garden, and in food storage areas, but overall aren't abundant enough to be of much concern. They may help keep some pest insect populations in check. |
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Red Squirrel - Tamiasciurus hudsonicus
| Description |
The total length of the red squirrel is around 314cm (282-343), with a tail around 122cm (113-130). While this individual shows great seasonal dimorphism, it can be identified by the orange-red to grayish-red coloration on the back and sides, and the white belly. In the winter, the coat is heavier and there are tufts of fur on the ears. In the summer, there is a solid black line separating the white belly from the dorsal fur. |
| Status |
The red squirrel is common throughout North America's coniferous forests, but is more common in northern than southern Minnesota. |
| Natural Role |
While the staple food of red squirrels is typically conifer seeds, it is not a picky species. Red squirrels will eat seeds, fruits, nuts, bark, fungi, and a variety of small mammals, reptiles and birds. |
| Agricultural Role |
Red squirrels can damage food storage areas and young trees, but are usually not economically significant when it comes to agriculture. |
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Eastern Gray Squirrel - Sciurus carolinensis
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| Description |
The eastern gray squirrel has a total length around 479cm (450-503), with a tail around 211cm (187-225). It is gray with a brown cast on the back and sides, and has a whitish underside. Black varieties can also be common. In either case, the tail is long and bushy. |
| Status |
The eastern gray squirrel is quite common in the Cannon River Watershed Area, especially in hardwood forests, but is uncommon in the northern coniferous forests of Minnesota. It is found only in the eastern half of the United States. |
| Natural Role |
Gray squirrels feed primarily on acorns, but will eat buds, flowers, seeds, berries, wheat, corn, and insects. They are important seed and acorn dispersers, and serve as valuable prey for a variety of carnivores. |
| Agricultural Role |
Gray squirrels can be agricultural pests in cornfields and gardens, but overall are fairly benign. They do well in woody fragmented agricultural landscapes (Fisher and Merriam, 2000). |
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Eastern Fox Squirrel - Sciurus niger
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| Description |
The fox squirrel has a total length around 550cm (510-621), with a tail around 246cm (220-265). The whole squirrel has a dull-orange color, especially on the feet, underside, and tops of the tail. The orange is mixed with gray on the back and sides. |
| Status |
The fox squirrel is uncommon in Minnesota, especially in the north, but it is experiencing population increases as continuous forest becomes fragmented.
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| Natural Role |
Fox squirrels feed mostly on nuts, but will also eat buds, fruits, and other vegetation, as well as the occasional small animal. They serve as seed dispersers, as well as prey for large predatory birds. |
| Agricultural Role |
The fox squirrel can
occasionally
be a pest in corn crops, but is more a nuisance to gardeners. |
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