Franklin’s Ground Squirrel Observations

Franklin’s Ground Squirrel is an increasingly rare species, but the cause of population decline and information about the species is generally unknown. This means that there is a need for observations to be recorded by local citizens to get an estimate on population, so that further actions and decisions can be taken. MacEwan University and Nature Alberta are collaborating to provide a more accurate species population count for Franklin’s Ground Squirrel. This is a citizen science focused project that started in 2022, and is reliant on people submitting observations of this species.

Franklin’s Ground Squirrel (Poliocitellus franklinii) are often found in dense shrub and grass areas, in Alberta this is specifically parkland habitats. A defining characteristic of Franklin’s Ground Squirrel is their bushy tail, and slight darker coloration (grayish, fading to light reddish tone) in comparison to the Richardson Ground Squirrel (aka Gopher).

You can submit observations through iNaturalist where there is the Franklin’s ground squirrel iNaturalist project that submissions will be added to for the use of the Nature Alberta and MacEwan University project. Additionally historic observations are important, with predictions on the former range of the species needed for understanding the population. There is a form on the Nature Alberta website for this project where you can fill out past sightings if you remember where, when and any additional notes about the sighting.