I'll cap that with a capybara

I should have known I couldn't fool a fooler, Geoff.


Yes, the mountain critter in question was an alpine marmot with the enigmatic bionomial Marmota marmota. Snapped above Zermatt in Switzerland.


Groovy chipmunk. And not one I can match. We have our own chipmunks in the Foret de Soignes in the south of Brussels. Very cheeky chappies, particularly as they're feral Siberian chipmunks. I won't count that one, but just wanted to show my striped squirrel credentials.


Talking of rodents, I thought I should share a snap of the king of the gnawers - capybaras living in a tributary of the Peruvian Amazon. And while we're about it let's throw in a red and grey squirrel each for good measure.


Geoff 10, Graham 9




Keep those binoculars handy...


Graham

Cheeky chipmunk

Well, Hi Graham.

Sorry for the delay in my response, but I have had a major work thang to complete in the last couple of weeks. Normal service is now resumed, you will be horrified to hear.

What a puzzler that last picture is. I couldn't quite place the animal as a member of the North American marmots, but it is clearly an alpine species that likes to feed among patches of vegetation introduced from ski resorts in Switzerland. Let me guess, did you take the picture in a theme park or zoo? That would be a shame in terms of tickability, of course, though I suppose you might come up with some story about it being a mix up or something and tick it anyway.

Talking of ticks, thanks for the memory jogger - I had completely forgotten that our Seychelles companions were Black Rats so I was quite correct with my over inflated score from last time!

Anyway, for your pleasure, here is a picture of a cheeky chipmunk. I think it is a Sonoma Chipmunk and I photographed it at the awesome John Muir National Monument in California. This one is trying to steal a Jack Wills bodywarmer carelessly left lying by an unsuspecting tourist.



Hope that all is well,

Geoff