Dec. 6, 2015 - Other Yosemite Photos
Read MoreHere’s Diana holding two pine cones that we found in a grove of huge trees. Our intention was to show the disparity in size between cones from two different trees. However, I showed this photo to Shirley Spencer, our guide, and she pointed out that both cones are from the same kind of tree, a Sugar Pine. The smaller one is just the tip of a larger cone.
This is a Douglas Squirrel, also called a Chickaree. It’s small, only 10½ to 14 inches long. That includes the tail which can be 5 to 7 inches long. It’s about the size of its close relative the Red Squirrel. When our group visited a Sequoia forest, we had to back away from the base of one of the giant trees because pine cones were dropping around us. We decided a Chickaree was at the top of the tree cutting cones and letting them fall to the ground. It would later come down and store these cones to eat during the winter. Sequoia cones are not very big but getting hit by one falling over 300 feet would really hurt.
SquirrelDouglasChickareeAhwahneeHotelYosemiteNatlPark20151101
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