I really appreciate any data on any of our beautiful neighbors and love your article and pic of the Colombian Ground squirrel. Would that be Columbia in S. America, and if so, why then do they hibernate in Alberta where it is most assuredly a lot colder? (Columbia a long way from Canada and so how would they travel such a long way? Must be over 1000 miles?)
The whole Pacific North West coast of North America was called Colombia at one stage. Hence the Canadian Provence of British Colombia ; and a lot of Washington state is historically referenced to Colombia but changed after the war of independence . The voyage of Christopher Columbus obviously had impact right across the Americas and lots of places were named after him. It is closer to 10k miles from Alberta to the country Colombia. I doubt these things move more than 1km in their life .