The Ala Shan ground squirrel is a small rodent from the squirrel family. It lives in dry steppes and semi-deserts in northern China and southern Mongolia.
The Ala Shan ground squirrel is well adapted to the dry climate and long hibernation. It serves as food for predators and helps mix the soil.
Feeds during the day on the surface and stores food in a burrow.
homogamy, reproduction always with fertilization, no alternation of generations
Worker
Tail size
birth time
Describes the act of excavating soil or substrate to locate or access food.
breeding
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
g
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
Claws color
days
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
adult
Maturity
rarely insects
insects
About health
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Repro interval
results
Colors
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
mo
Uses an excavated underground tunnel or chamber for refuge or nesting.
rains are very rare, almost a desert
Trophic type
Filters
Tail count
Palearctic realm
young shoots and sprouts
diurnal
Upcoming birthdays
eggs, roe or offspring develop in a nest built on the ground or close to it
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
in a burrow
Desert and dry shrubs
young are born live on land, not hatched from eggs or roe
Age (juvenile)
Age (from birth to death)
Age (embryo)
most of Europe and Asia, various forests, steppes and tundra
Wanderers
Food items are collected from exposed outer surfaces of substrates.
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
dry, cold winter, lots of grass, few trees
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
roots
Lifespan average
in a terrestrial nest
live birth
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
very dry and cold, very little snow and rain
Share
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
nest hidden in an underground burrow
digging
Pets
Feeding occurs primarily on land or in vegetation.
{name} jubilee
paw
Claws count
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
plains
desert and semi-desert
Claws size
turns
Rascals
Cold desert
Tail color
plant seeds
seeds
Litter size
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
°C
Not specified
Actively searching habitats to locate food items.
Where are they found?
nest hidden in an underground burrow, only the mother provides parental care for the offspring
steppe
herbivore
Describes food handling or digging performed with the forelimbs.
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Feeds during the day on the surface and stores food in a burrow.
Offspring
Elders
Bro
normal sexual
Taxons
if born as {name}
age
birth date
Palearctic realm
arid terrestrial biotopes with sparse vegetation
rest
Fur color
Close
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
The basics
hibernation
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
surface
primary food sources
teeth
burrow
Potential Habitat
lots of grass, few trees, rains are rare
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Mass
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
terrestrial
Plants
Gestation
from 130 grams to 0.5 kilograms, 0.35 – 0.8 meters
land
{name} birthday
No results found
underground
On the map
young shoots, sprouts, green plant shoots
all life stages
Female ♀
Cold and almost dry
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
birth year
lots of grass, few trees, rains occur
Shelter used specifically for reproduction or nesting.
Maturity
Skin color
caring mother
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
sq mm
yr
protection from sun
How similar?
Male ♂
until the celebration
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
What if eaten?
Very dry
Neither
from birth to adulthood
What do they eat?
dry and cold almost all year round
Where do they live?
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
Hard dental structures used to bite, tear, or scrape food.
grass shoots
Very hot and dry
Duration
live insects
This is me
most of Europe and Asia, various forests, steppes and tundra
Steppe
Gamers
How are they built?
Temperate steppe
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
very hot during the day, cold at night, almost no rain
terrestrial
Asexual
swap
roots and plant tubers
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
Denotes a grassland or steppe habitat preference.
inhabit and develop on land, outside water bodies
celebrated their {n} birthday
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
Cold steppe
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
foraging
Hermaphrodite ⚥
cheek pouch
embryo
Zucchini
plant seeds — sunflower, grass, small wild seeds
Length
kg
very hot and dry, rare rains, cacti live
Observations
◉{N} more on tap