Why are GroundSquirrels so Tough?

canuckgunny

canuckgunny

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... and I don't mean in the sense of chewing them.

I had this question posed to me by an American friend from California who has travelled the world and hunted pretty much every type of game. (He's got the skins to prove it)... Yet loves comin up here to shoot ground squirrels. His opinion is that they are 'pound for pound the toughest animals on the planet'.

What is it about their physiology that makes them so hardy? I've on several occasions come across squirrels shot the year before that are missing limbs etc... and doing fine. I'm sure they are social critters and care for their wounded... but we are wondering about other, possible biological advantages... Any ideas?
 
Whats he shoot them with??
I never noticed them to be tough??
They are social....and like to feed on each other sometimes....
 
Dmay said:
I never noticed them to be tough??
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Hmm... Never tried to drown one I guess? Never as the Baird said: unzipped one 'from nave to chops', had their guts hanging out trippin over them yet they run 25 yards and escape down the hole?

Dmay said:
They are social....and like to feed on each other sometimes....
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Ditto for most animals, including humans. What's it got to do with the question?

Thanks anyways.
 
Red foreman said:
When I hit em with my .222 there isn't much left of them to run anywhere.
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Obviously most centerfires are gonna have unavoidable splat factor, we've all blown them to pieces only to spend fifteen minutes trying to find the upper portion of the body cuz-your-buddy-wasn't-watchin- and-doesn't-believe-you-when-you-tell-em-how-far-it-went.
Ya, again, thanks, but not really what I'm lookin for here.
"I ran some over with my car and they didn't live..." I know already.

Maybe I need to rethink the wording of the question....
 
I've shot a lot of both Columbian and Richardson's ground squirrels over the years, and they don't seem tougher than other animals to me. I've shot them with 22 rimfires, 222, 22-250, 30-06 and shotguns. As long as you hit them in the vitals with a 22 rimfire, they will die. As for the centerfires, obviously a hit anywhere is fatal.... there isn't much left of the little buggers!
 
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