The Richardson's ground squirrel inhabits the grasslands of the great plains of North America. It can easily be identified by the upright posture it frequently assumes. Its quick, quivering tail is also characteristic.

It lives in burrows and eats a wide variety of plants and their seeds. Non-vegetarian fare is not rejected either; they also eat grasshoppers, and even feast on their road-killed neighbours (at the risk of becoming road-kill themselves).

During the winter when the exposed plains turn into a harsh and deadly environment, this plump-bodied little animal hibernates securely in the depth of its burrows.