Abstract
The European ground squirrel (EGS) was a common species of the Bohemian and Moravian farmlands. After a large scale habitat changes due to agricultural intensification in 1950s its abundance has declined and the species has disappeared from the most of the sites in our state.
In 2008, occurrence of the EGS was verified at only 35 sites of the Czech Republic. One of the last European ground squirrel populations is situated in the Bohemian Karst Protected Landscape Area, about 1.5 km southward from the town of Loděnice.
Estimated abundance of this population is 50 individuals. Detailed information about EGS colony will be provided by upcoming research.
Present article also describes unsuccessful reintroduction of the European ground squirrel at the Zlatý kůň National Nature Monument, which took part in 1989 – 1993, and gives basic information about recently adopted Action plan of the European ground squirrel in the Czech Republic.