Mountain ground squirrel
Xerus princeps (Thomas, 1929)
The mountain ground squirrel (Xerus princeps) is a species in the family Sciuridae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh 596.5 g to 636 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the mountain ground squirrel
- Weight
- 596.5 g – 636 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 46.8 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the mountain ground squirrel live?
Not recorded
What is the mountain ground squirrel?
The mountain ground squirrel (Geosciurus princeps) is a rodent that is native to southwestern Angola, western Namibia, and western South Africa. It is also known as the Kaoko ground squirrel or the Damara ground squirrel.
It is the closest relative of the Cape ground squirrel (Latin name Geosciurus inauris), which is so similar in appearance that the two are difficult to distinguish in the field. Both species have long bushy black and white tails with a white stripe from the shoulder towards the rump. Geosciurus princeps is slightly larger, on average, than G. inauris, although there is considerable overlap in body size. Differences in skull morphology also distinguish the two species, and the incisors are yellow to orange rather than white as in G. inauris.
From the Wikipedia article “Mountain ground squirrel” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mountain_ground_squirrel&oldid=1315114613), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the mountain ground squirrel endangered?
The mountain ground squirrel is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the mountain ground squirrel classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderRodentia
- familySciuridae
- genusXerus
- SpeciesXerus princeps (Thomas, 1929)
Synonyms Geosciurus princeps
Other names and names in other languages (2)
- Damara ground squirrelEnglish
- Damara ground squirrelEnglish
Relatives of the mountain ground squirrel
Other species in the same genus Xerus.
Unstriped ground squirrel
Xerus rutilus
Striped ground squirrel
Xerus erythropus
South African ground squirrel
Xerus inauris
CompareMountain ground squirrel vs Unstriped ground squirrelMountain ground squirrel vs Striped ground squirrelMountain ground squirrel vs South African ground squirrel
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the mountain ground squirrel?
An adult mountain ground squirrel weighs 596.5 g – 636 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the mountain ground squirrel endangered?
The mountain ground squirrel is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long is the mountain ground squirrel pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 46.8 days.
What kind of animal is the mountain ground squirrel?
The mountain ground squirrel (Xerus princeps) belongs to the family Sciuridae in the order Rodentia.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Mountain ground squirrel (Xerus princeps). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/mountain-ground-squirrel
“Mountain ground squirrel (Xerus princeps).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/mountain-ground-squirrel.
@misc{mountain_ground_squirrel_2026,
title = {Mountain ground squirrel (Xerus princeps)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/mountain-ground-squirrel},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}