Kazakhstan: Ground Squirrels aka Susliki

Everybody notices camels while drying through long endless expanses of central Kazakh deserts and steppes, but the truly quintessential animal here is suslik aka ground squirrel. These communal animals – similar to American prairie dogs but smaller – are quite common in the otherwise inhospitable grasslands and sandy deserts. There are several species living here – yellow ground squirrel, russet ground squirrel, and several others.