European Ground Squirrel - European souslik - Siesel (Spermophilus citellus) in Slovakia

Описание: The European ground squirrel (Spermophilus citellus), also known as the European souslik, or siesel is part of the squirrel family. During my trip to Slovakia, I was able to observe several European ground squirrels in their natural habitat of wild flowers.

The European ground squirrel is about the size of a brown rat. They have quite small ears and big eyes with a pale circle around it. The siesel has a yellowish-grey fur, with a few yellow-brown spots on the back. The underside is more sandy-coloured.

They need short grassland vegetation and a soil which allows for digging tunnels. It’s mostly found in steppe areas and meadows. It feeds on grasses, other plants, flowers, seeds, and insects.
The European Souslik is often observed standing on the look-out for predators such as feral cats, dogs, foxes, birds of prey, etc… They are exclusively day active.

During the winter European ground squirrels go into hibernation. The body temperature drops to 2.0 °C (36 °F), and the heart rate slows to a few beats per minute. They hibernate roughly from September until April.

The European ground squirrel is by the IUCN classified as Vulnerable, due to habitat loss as habitat is changing into agricultural monocultures and so on.

If you want to look for the European ground squirrel yourself, get in touch. Wildlife Impulse offers some trips to Slovakia and Belgium
https://wildlifeimpulse.com/nature-tr...

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WHO AM I?
I'm Sam, passionate about wildlife with a biology degree. With this channel (and my blog) I want to share my experiences and make content about wildlife-related stuff.
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