Spermophilus Columbianus - Columbian Ground Squirrel at Kopje Park near Okanagan Center BC - April 10, 2010.

The lawns and hills surrounding Gibson Historic House and the park grounds are peppered with little critter tunnels and entrances guarded by colorful ground squirrels. It has a reddish brown belly, Grayish mixed with black above (with buff colored spotting). The front of the face and front legs are also reddish brown, and the tail is bushy and reddish brown with dark guard hairs at the tip. This is a female perched close to the entrance of her tunnel home. A mother Ground Squirrel will closely defend her young litter comfortably nestled away inside one of the nesting tunnels - on average about 3 to 5 kits. The Columbian Ground Squirrel is colonial, much like the prairie dogs in Alberta, living in communities of connected burrows. The adult squirrel eats many kinds of food, including grasses, plant stems, leaves, seeds, bulbs and tubers, insects, birds and other small vertebrates. Larger colonies can be very damaging to grain fields.

To get to the park, take Highway 97 North through Winfield and turn left on Oceola Road. Turn right on Carrs Landing Road and follow to Kopje Regional Park. Visit Gibson Heritage House at Kopje Regional Park and discover what life was like on an orchard homestead in the early 1900's. This stately beach home was built by George Gibson in 1912 and has been entirely restored and refurbished by community donation. It includes artifacts from the 1910-1930's era and local historical information.

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