Fight for Survival – Uinta Ground Squirrel and Weasel

One of the things that I like best about being a nature and wildlife photographer is observing wildlife and birds in their natural environment and using photography to capture their behavior.

On a recent trip to Yellowstone National Park, I was lucky enough to witness a fight for survival between a colony of Uinta ground squirrels and a weasel that took up residence in their neighborhood. I was also able to capture some of the interactions between these animals in photographs.

With the weasel moving into the ground squirrel neighborhood and taking over a burrow, the Uinta ground squirrels were on constant watch.

Occasionally, the weasel would pop his head out of the burrow looking for a ground squirrel baby to snatch. The ground squirrels would then converge on the weasel forcing him to retreat into his tunnel. However, the weasel was lightning fast. Within seconds he jumped out of his burrow and snatched a Uinta ground squirrel baby and pulled it into his burrow.

After losing a baby, the mother ground squirrel tirelessly moved her 7 remaining babies to safety. She carried the rather large babies across the grass, over a log, and under the boardwalk to safety.

This was a sad but amazing drama to watch unfold.

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Written by Martin Belan
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