Burrow Buddies - A European ground squirrel story

Director: Angelika Sigl

European ground squirrels require a specific habitat: a clear view to be able to spot enemies in time, sandy soil to dig their burrows and lots of space for their colonies to grow. These conditions are important to other animals as well, so ground squirrels share their habitat with European hamsters, wart-biters, predatory bush crickets and many other species. The result is a “ground squirrel cosmos”. Ground squirrels are nowadays only found in a few places in Europe, such as Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland. In the Danube valley near Krems, however, they are still quite common.

More and more European ground squirrels can be found in areas close to human habitation. Here, they are threatened by feral dogs and cats, but also tempted by food offered by passers-by. Civilization can also be a major threat for them since they frequently have to cross roads in order to find new territories. Many of them die, but some manage to leave their home colony and start a new one.

Still, little is known about these small ground dwelling squirrels. Researchers investigating a colony near Prague have gathered new insights on their 'language', and also how they manage to survive in their burrows without food for eight to nine months. It is important to accumulate as much knowledge as possible about these animals and their 'cosmos' in order to help them thrive, even in the close proximity to civilization.