It is hard to guess what a European ground squirrel weights. But we have the answer:
An adult European ground squirrel (Spermophilus citellus) on average weights 396 grams (0.87 lbs).
The European ground squirrel is from the family Sciuridae (genus: Spermophilus). When reaching adult age, they grow up to 19.8 cm (0′ 8″). On average, European ground squirrels can have babies 1 times per year with a litter size of 6.
As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.
The European ground squirrel (Spermophilus citellus), also known as the European souslik, is a species from the squirrel family, Sciuridae. 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 Europe from southern Ukraine, to Asia Minor, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, Greece, Romania, 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 borne. 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.
Animals of the same family as a European ground squirrel
We found other animals of the Sciuridae family:
- Fire-footed rope squirrel with a weight of 243 grams
- Cliff chipmunk with a weight of 63 grams
- Texas antelope squirrel with a weight of 113 grams
- Striped bush squirrel with a weight of 160 grams
- Thirteen-lined ground squirrel with a weight of 175 grams
- Indian giant flying squirrel bringing 1.68 kilos (3.7 lbs) to the scale
- Gray marmot with 5 babies per litter
- California chipmunk with a weight of 73 grams
- Spotted giant flying squirrel bringing 1.04 kilos (2.29 lbs) to the scale
- Ring-tailed ground squirrel with a weight of 500 grams
Animals with the same weight as a European ground squirrel
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Spermophilus citellus:
- Brown-eared woolly opossum bringing 351 grams to the scale
- Franklin’s ground squirrel bringing 458 grams to the scale
- Long-eared hedgehog bringing 332 grams to the scale
- Weyland ringtail possum bringing 458 grams to the scale
- Eastern small-toothed rat bringing 357 grams to the scale
- Greater mole-rat bringing 470 grams to the scale
- Indonesian mountain weasel bringing 466 grams to the scale
- Darien pocket gopher bringing 437 grams to the scale
- Smoky pocket gopher bringing 403 grams to the scale
- Slender-tailed squirrel bringing 427 grams to the scale
Animals with the same size as a European ground squirrel
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as European ground squirrel:
- Perote ground squirrel with a size of 17.9 cm (0′ 8″)
- Asian red-cheeked squirrel with a size of 20.3 cm (0′ 8″)
- Townsend’s pocket gopher with a size of 18.4 cm (0′ 8″)
- Yellow-faced pocket gopher with a size of 19.2 cm (0′ 8″)
- Palawan spiny rat with a size of 16.7 cm (0′ 7″)
- Northern Idaho ground squirrel with a size of 18.1 cm (0′ 8″)
- Eastern woodrat with a size of 21.2 cm (0′ 9″)
- Guadalcanal rat with a size of 21.6 cm (0′ 9″)
- Eastern rat with a size of 17.3 cm (0′ 7″)
- Temotu flying fox with a size of 17.5 cm (0′ 7″)
Animals with the same litter size as a European ground squirrel
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (6) as a European ground squirrel: