WILDLIFE WEDNESDAY: Dippity-do—or Dippity-don’t!
The white-tailed antelope ground squirrel and other hooligans
Some people who have lived in the desert all their lives call it a “dippity-do.”1 A friend of mine calls them “yah-nas,” which I thought might be a Native name but turns out to be for their habit of going yes-no yes-no will I won’t I run in front of your car?
Their common name is the white-tailed antelope ground squirrel, which is a very long name for the smallest of ground squirrels.
Edmund C. Jaeger, who wrote absolutely charming mid-century guides to desert animals, called them the “gayest little mammal of the desert” and a “decent friendly fellow of the finest sort.”
These fine fellows eat car wiring, brake cables, that cute prickly pear you picked up at Cactus Mart, and other treasured landscaping. Just kidding. That’s probably the packrat. Because the white-tailed antelope ground squirrel is diurnal, and I’m diurnal and see them around all the time, I blame them.
They actually eat greens during the spring and are probably loving this year because it has been so wet and has greened up so much. Later in the year, they eat seeds, berries, and bugs. They seem to climb everything; I have seen them high in local saguaro cacti gnawing on pods and stuffing seeds into their cheek pouches.
The white-tailed antelope ground squirrel endures surprisingly high temperatures—up to 110 degrees—and sploot themselves on hard surfaces to cool off by convection. They live in long burrows, often with more than once entrance, which in our yard are fortified with cholla bombs.2 When it gets cold, several white-tailed antelope ground squirrels will huddle in their burrows and keep warm together.
These scamps have big feet for a little squirrel and dart energetically around the desert, their tails flicking over their backs, showing off the white underside of their tail. This is where the “antelope” part of their name comes from because pronghorns flick their tails in alarm.3
Even though they are hard on landscaping, I can’t hate on the white-tailedd antelope ground squirrel because they are so cute. Those big feet and large eyes, the way the stand on their hind legs and look around, and their little ears—I’d rather enjoy watching them than cultivate that special cactus any day.
I don’t know why. Because “dippity-do” is a cute word and these ground squirrels are cute? Or it could be a connection to the kangaroo rat’s genus, which is Dipodomys. If you know, will you please tell me?
Cholla bombs are the pieces of cholla that break off, stick to your shoes, come off in your house, and which you step on when you are barefoot—generating f-bombs.
The pronghorn isn’t technically an antelope, but that’s how they are known at home on the range.
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And let's not forget the Twentynine Palms restaurant named for this fine fellow!
These lovely creatures loves to steal my dog's food. And they are one of my favorite life forms in the desert.