It is hard to guess what a California ground squirrel weights. But we have the answer:
An adult California ground squirrel (Spermophilus beecheyi) on average weights 598 grams (1.32 lbs).
The California ground squirrel is from the family Sciuridae (genus: Spermophilus). It is usually born with about 9 grams (0.02 lbs). They can live for up to 5 years. When reaching adult age, they grow up to 24.5 cm (0′ 10″). On average, California ground squirrels can have babies 1 times per year with a litter size of 6.
As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.
The California ground squirrel (Otospermophilus beecheyi), also known as the Beechey ground squirrel, is a common and easily observed ground squirrel of the western United States and the Baja California Peninsula; it is common in Oregon and California and its range has relatively recently extended into Washington and northwestern Nevada. Formerly placed in Spermophilus, as Spermophilus beecheyi, it was reclassified in Otospermophilus in 2009 as it became clear that Spermophilus as previously defined was not a natural (monophyletic) group. A full species account was published for this species in 2016.
Animals of the same family as a California ground squirrel
We found other animals of the Sciuridae family:
- Thirteen-lined ground squirrel with a weight of 175 grams
- Black and red bush squirrel with a weight of 692 grams
- Selangor pygmy flying squirrel with a weight of 30 grams
- Maritime striped squirrel with a weight of 66 grams
- Sculptor squirrel with a size of 12 cm (0′ 5″)
- Busuanga squirrel with a size of 21 cm (0′ 9″)
- Sanborn’s squirrel with a weight of 136 grams
- Smoky flying squirrel with a weight of 251 grams
- Particolored flying squirrel with a weight of 255 grams
- Daurian ground squirrel with 5 babies per litter
Animals with the same weight as a California ground squirrel
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Spermophilus beecheyi:
- Weasel sportive lemur bringing 670 grams to the scale
- Mexican fox squirrel bringing 697 grams to the scale
- Insular flying fox bringing 560 grams to the scale
- Siberian weasel bringing 531 grams to the scale
- Giant Atlantic tree-rat bringing 502 grams to the scale
- JunÃn red squirrel bringing 482 grams to the scale
- Broad-faced potoroo bringing 499 grams to the scale
- Marbled polecat bringing 594 grams to the scale
- Red-handed tamarin bringing 541 grams to the scale
- Malayan weasel bringing 569 grams to the scale
Animals with the same litter size as a California ground squirrel
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (6) as a California ground squirrel:
- Mohave ground squirrel
- Cinereus shrew
- Long-tailed weasel
- Chinese striped hamster
- Maximowicz’s vole
- Arctic ground squirrel
- Common shrew
- Alaskan hare
- Big-eared opossum
- Woolly mouse opossum
Animals with the same life expectancy as a California ground squirrel
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a California ground squirrel:
- Plains rat with an average maximal age of 5.58 years
- Guyenne spiny rat with an average maximal age of 4.75 years
- Bahamian hutia with an average maximal age of 6 years
- Hairy-tailed mole with an average maximal age of 5 years
- Bunny rat with an average maximal age of 5.5 years
- Brown four-eyed opossum with an average maximal age of 4 years
- Greater grison with an average maximal age of 5.25 years
- Xerus erythropus with an average maximal age of 6 years
- White-tailed antelope squirrel with an average maximal age of 5.75 years
- Lesser mole-rat with an average maximal age of 4.5 years