Page 205 - The Miracle of Migration in Animals

HARUN YAHYA

Migration of Ground Squirrels

Most ground squirrels live in groups on open grassland, eating
grasses and seeds. At night they sleep in underground nests. The dis-
tances these little creatures migrate are very great in relation to their

body size. At the age of only two months, when they are half the size
of the adults and weigh only 125 grams (4.5 ounces), Belding’s
ground squirrels (Spermophilus beldingi) leave their birthplace, never
to return. The tiny squirrels travel a distance of 1 kilometer (2/3 mile)
before settling. This would be the equivalent of a 600-kilometer (370-
mile) trek for a person weighing 75 kilos (165 pounds). In other
words, in relation to their body weight, they cover a greater distance
than the wildebeest’s 3,000-kilometer (1,900-mile) annual migration
cycle from the south of the Serengeti to Kenya and back. 54

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