For at least 10 years we have had an active 13 band ground squirrel den entry/exit next to our home. We enjoyed their coming and going watching them through our window. As an old retired man, i loved watching them. Yesterday while watching the den entry/exit I saw a king snake slither through our gravel yard and into the den. I have lived in Texas most of my 84 years and have never, before yesterday, seen a king snake in the "wild". it probably sensed that there were baby squirrels in the nest. I understand that ground squirrels can harass snakes but I fear that this king snake most likely got one or more of the babies. This morning we saw several of the squirrels in and around the entry/exit. Around noon a large male squirrel started excavating around the entry/exit hole. In a very few minutes of great engineering he sealed the hole.  

My questions: Are you familiar with this activity? Do you think they will reopen the hole? If not, I will sure miss them. 

Thank you.