Measuring Docility, Boldness, and Exploration in the Free-Living Yellow Ground Squirrel Spermophilus fulvus Licht. (Sciuridae)

Studying intraspecific variation in animal behavior is one of the key trends in recent biology. Comparative behavioral studies of different species require developing an adequate methodology for every new species. We performed three types of behavioral tests with juveniles of the yellow ground squirrel, a large hibernating rodent. Docility tests with an estimation of the time and intensity of the animal locomotor activity in a bag showed low repeatability and appeared to be inappropriate for this species since most of the pups demonstrated freezing behavior. Boldness tests with an action camera installed near the squirrel’s burrow were more promising, but the juveniles still did not emerge aboveground for a long time after they escaped to their burrows, remained vigilant, and did not explore the new object. Test results indicate that yellow ground squirrels are very shy and cautious, which may be a persistent behavioral trait of this species.