Speckled Ground Squirrel - Predators

Predators

Though there have been no quantitative studies on all the predators of S. suslicus, the weasel Mustela nivalis has been known to enter burrows and cause significant juvenile mortality, though it does not attack adults. However, conspecific predation may be more of a threat to the juvenile speckled ground squirrel than interspecific predators. Though infanticide in the wild has not yet been reported, the speckled ground squirrel has been infanticidal in captivity. The killer can be male, female, or both, and either eats the child or attacks and leaves it to die.