European ground squirrel

European ground squirrel
In Slovakia
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Sciuridae
Genus:	Spermophilus
Species:	S. citellus
Binomial name
Spermophilus citellus (Linnaeus, 1766)
Geographic range
Synonyms
Citellus citellus (Linnaeus, 1766) Mus citellus Linnaeus, 1766

The European ground squirrel (Spermophilus citellus), also known as the European souslik, is a species from the squirrel family, Sciuridae.^[2] It is among the few European species in the genus Spermophilus. Like all squirrels, it is a member of the rodent order. It is to be found in eastern and central Europe from southern Ukraine, to Asia Minor, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, Hungary, Greece, Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria, North Macedonia and north as far as Poland but the range is divided in two parts by the Carpathian Mountains.

The European ground squirrel grows to a length of approximately 20 cm (8 in) and a weight of approximately 300 grams (11 oz). It is a diurnal animal, living in colonies of individual burrows in pastures or grassy embankments. The squirrels emerge during the day to feed upon seeds, plant shoots and roots or flightless invertebrates. The colonies maintain sentinels who whistle at the sight of a predator, bringing the pack scurrying back to safety.

Breeding takes place in early summer when a single litter of five to eight young is born. The European ground squirrel hibernates between autumn and March, the length of time depending on the climate. In preparation they will build up reserves of brown fat during the late summer.