Traditional land management, especially grazing and a patchwork agricultural landscape, plays a key role in the survival of European ground squirrels. However, even protected areas no longer provide the conditions needed for their populations to survive in the long term.
This follows from an international scientific study involving researchers from the Institute of Vertebrate Biology of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Brno. The team examined the occurrence of European ground squirrels in Bulgaria and the reasons why their numbers continue to decline despite conservation efforts. The results, published in the scientific journal European Journal of Wildlife Research, show that the species is closely tied to a specific type of landscape and is harmed by any changes to it.
The study also states that these findings could help protect Europe’s steppe ecosystems, which provide suitable conditions not only for European ground squirrels, but also for many other native species of the European landscape. Although the research focused on Bulgaria, its conclusions can also be applied to Czechia and may help protect the remaining ground squirrel populations there.
The European ground squirrel was once a common inhabitant of European meadows and pastures. It has lived in what is now Czechia since farmers first began transforming the landscape, at least 7,000 years ago. Today, however, it is disappearing from many areas and is considered an endangered species. In Czechia, it is critically endangered and strictly protected. After a dramatic decline in the second half of the 20th century, it now survives in several isolated locations, mainly in South Moravia and central or northern Bohemia, often at airfields, golf courses or on steppe slopes.
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The European ground squirrel is an important part of steppe communities. Its burrows are used by other animals, while the species itself forms a significant part of the diet of several endangered predators, including the eastern imperial eagle and the saker falcon. The researchers therefore analysed more than 3,000 occurrence sites recorded between 2004 and 2023 as part of long-term monitoring, research and conservation projects in Bulgaria.
The study found that European ground squirrels prefer open grassland habitats with well-drained soils and specific temperature conditions. By contrast, they tend to abandon intensively cultivated farmland. “The results show that the European ground squirrel can survive both in lowlands and on mountain pastures, provided the landscape offers a suitable structure and well-drained soils,” said study author Natália Martínková
The study also points out that only around six percent of the most suitable habitats are located in protected areas. “The best sites for European ground squirrels are often found outside protected areas. These are precisely the locations where the greatest changes in land use are now taking place, which may lead to the rapid loss of suitable habitats,” added Maria Kachamaková from the Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
Link to the study (in English)
An article written by Tomáš Karlík (CT), initially published on 15 May 2026 at 09:57 (CEST)