European ground squirrel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids European ground squirrel |
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| Conservation status | |
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Spermophilus
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| Species: |
citellus
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Citellus citellus (Linnaeus, 1766) |
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The European ground squirrel (Spermophilus citellus), also called the European souslik, is a type of squirrel. It belongs to the squirrel family, called Sciuridae. This animal is one of the few ground squirrel species found in Europe. Like all squirrels, it is a kind of rodent.
You can find the European ground squirrel in eastern and central Europe. Its home stretches from southern Ukraine to Asia Minor, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and north to Poland. The Carpathian Mountains divide its living area into two parts.
This squirrel grows to about 20 centimeters (8 inches) long. It usually weighs around 300 grams (11 ounces). European ground squirrels are active during the day. They live in groups, called colonies, in their own burrows. You can find these burrows in pastures or grassy areas. The squirrels come out during the day to find food. They eat seeds, plant shoots, roots, and insects that cannot fly. These colonies have special "sentinel" squirrels. These sentinels whistle loudly if they see a predator. This warning makes the whole group quickly run back to safety.
They usually have babies in early summer. A mother squirrel will have one litter of five to eight young. The European ground squirrel hibernates during the colder months. This long sleep lasts from autumn until March. The exact time depends on the weather. To get ready, they store up special brown fat in late summer.
Contents
What Does It Look Like?
The European ground squirrel is about the same size as a brown rat. An adult squirrel is usually 20 to 23 centimeters (8 to 9 inches) long. It weighs between 240 and 340 grams (8.5 to 12 ounces). It has a slim body and a short, bushy tail.
Its fur is short and thick. It is yellowish-grey with a hint of red. You might see a few light and dark spots on its back. Its belly is pale, with a sandy color. The squirrel has large, dark eyes placed high on its head. Its small, round ears are hidden in its fur. Its strong legs have sharp claws. These claws are perfect for digging. Male squirrels are a little bigger than females, but they look very similar.
The European ground squirrel makes a very loud alarm call. This sound tells all other squirrels nearby to hide quickly. It also makes softer chirping and growling noises.
Sometimes, people might confuse the European ground squirrel with the speckled ground squirrel. The speckled ground squirrel lives in Poland, Romania, Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. However, it has dark brown fur with white spots. It also has a thin tail and prefers areas with rougher plants.
Where Do They Live?
The European ground squirrel lives in central and southeastern Europe. The Carpathian Mountains split its living area. You can find them at heights up to 800 meters (2,600 feet). Their range includes southern Ukraine, Asia Minor, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and northern Poland.
They used to be gone from parts of Germany and Poland. But in 2005, they were successfully brought back to Poland. Some of these squirrels came from the Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport.
European ground squirrels need a very specific type of home. They need short grass to dig their tunnels. They find this in steppes (large grassy plains) and pastures. They also live in dry banks, sports fields, parks, and lawns. These homes are lost when farms change grasslands into fields for crops or forests. They also lose their homes if grazing stops and the grass grows too tall. Other places with short plants, like railway banks and roadsides, can also be good homes.
Daily Life and Behavior
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The European ground squirrel lives in colonies and is mostly active during the day. It digs a complex system of tunnels. These tunnels can be up to 2 meters (6.5 feet) deep. They have several entrances. In other parts of its home area, it digs simple holes. These are quick hiding spots if danger appears.
If a squirrel is scared, it makes a loud whistle. When it is out in the open, it often sits up tall. It looks around for animals that might try to eat it. These predators include weasels, foxes, house cats, and some types of birds of prey.
The squirrel eats grasses, other plants, flowers, and seeds. It also eats farm crops, insects, and sometimes even the eggs or chicks of birds that nest on the ground. A study in Bulgaria showed that squirrels spent about eleven hours a day outside their burrow in mid-summer. By early autumn, this time dropped to seven hours. More than half of their day was spent looking for food. They also spent time exploring, running, sitting, cleaning themselves, digging, marking their territory with scent, and watching for danger.
During winter, the squirrel blocks the entrances to its burrow. It then hibernates in a nest made of dry plants. Each squirrel has its own sleeping chamber. During hibernation, its body temperature drops to about 2.0 °C (36 °F). Its heart rate slows down to just a few beats per minute. The squirrel might wake up for a few days during this time. It uses up the fat it stored during the summer. It can use about 90% of its stored body fat. In Bulgaria, hibernation lasts from September to March.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
After waking up from hibernation in spring, the squirrels mate. This happens in April or May. The mother squirrel is pregnant for about 26 days. She gives birth to five to eight young in a deep chamber of the burrow. The babies are born without fur and cannot see. Their eyes open when they are about four weeks old.
The mother feeds her babies for six weeks. Soon after that, they are ready to leave the burrow. They become adults the next spring. These squirrels can live for eight to ten years.
Status and Protection
The European ground squirrel is listed as an endangered animal by the IUCN. This is because the number of these squirrels is going down. Experts believe that their population has dropped by more than 30% in the last ten years. The southern, northwestern, and northern parts of their living area are most affected.
The biggest problems for them are changes in their habitat. Grasslands and pastures are being turned into farm fields or forests. Also, when grasslands are no longer used for grazing, the grass grows too tall. This creates bushy areas that the squirrels do not like. City growth and road building have also split up groups of squirrels. This makes it hard for them to move to new empty areas.
