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Small mammals
Cape ground squirrel
Cape ground squirrel · Xerus inauris
Cape ground squirrels live sociably in open landscapes and delight with their distinctive tail and lively daytime activity.
Fact file
- Size
- Head-body length 25 to 28 cm, tail of similar length, weight about 500 to 600 grams
- Males and females
- Males usually slightly larger, but hard to distinguish by appearance
- Sounds
- Alarm calls as shrill squeaking or clicking sounds
- Diet
- Grasses, roots, seeds, tubers, occasionally insects
- Offspring
- Two to six young per litter, birth mostly after the rainy season, raised in the burrow
How to identify Cape ground squirrel
The Cape ground squirrel has short, sandy-coloured fur with whitish stripes along its flanks. Its belly is lighter, almost white, and the bushy tail is strikingly ringed in black and white, often held over the back as shade.
Adult animals reach a head-body length of about 25 to 28 cm, with a tail of up to 28 cm. Their body looks slender, the legs relatively short and strong. Typical features are the dark button eyes, small, hairless ears and noticeably long claws on the forepaws.
More in the app
With Wildful Stories+ you also get in the app:
- general viewing tips
- one place where you can see Cape ground squirrel
Where Cape ground squirrel live
Namibia
Discover Cape ground squirrel on your trip.
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