Dictionary

siksik en · NOUN

Etymology

Borrowed from Inuktitut ᓯᒃᓯᒃ (siksik).

Meanings

1. Synonym of Arctic ground squirrel.
   • Another resident of the riparian zone is the arctic ground squirrel, also known as the siksik. These rodents eat plant seeds, stems, flowers, and roots. Like arctic foxes, siksiks forage in many areas of the tundra, but make their homes in places where the active layer is deep. 2003, Cherie Winner, Life in the Tundra, Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Co., →ISBN, →OCLC:
   • One autumn, I watched two different grizzlies of Denali National Park hunt for Arctic ground squirrels, or siksiks. At the northern latitudes beyond the timberline, where they live, siksiks have only a very brief summer in which to eat, raise a family, enough body fat […] 1990, Erwin A. Bauer, Erwin Bauer's Bear in Their World, Outdoor Life Books, →ISBN, →OCLC:
   • Siksiks are irascible, curious little fellows with vituperative, strident voices that can be heard a mile away. 1972, Fred Bruemmer, Encounters with Arctic Animals, New York: American Heritage Press, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OCLC:

Forms

Synonyms

Arctic ground squirrel