The European ground squirrels are animals that live in large groups. In ideal conditions, they will grow to several thousand members and gradually colonise the surrounding landscape, provided it is suitable and there is low vegetation – grassland, or mown lawns or meadows.
Ground squirrels often colonise new colonies by running as far as 6-8 km from their home meadow in search of suitable opportunities. Often the first individuals occupy the burrows of voles, which are similarly sized and can fit them. Then, by smell and sound, they are found by others who colonise the site with them. If this doesn’t happen, a few pioneers will probably be hunted down by predators, because when there are few of them, they can’t defend themselves well.
In fact, ground squirrels communicate by whistling when threatened. If one senses danger, it will whistle to let the others know something is wrong. Interestingly, their whistling is not just a mere whistle, but they can communicate more information to each other by the way they whistle – for example, if a fox is approaching and a ground squirrel whistles, the others will look at the ground; if a raven or a bird of prey is approaching, for example, they will look at the sky after the whistle.
The ground squirrel is a very interesting animal that we are learning something new about every day in the project and it helps us to protect it better and to set measures for it. We are trying to make colonies richer, save this species, and bring grazing and biodiversity back to the landscape as part of the project.