It inhabits steppe, mountain foothills, and alpine meadows, at elevations up to 3,200 m asl. It is often associated with couch grasses, pea shrubs and false sedges, particularly Amygdalus pedunculata and Amygdalus polyrrhizum. This species is not found in areas with dense forest cover (Nowak 1991). In China, it can be found in desert habitat occupying dry sandy areas, as well as "grasslands at the edge of the Gobi" (Smith and Xie 2008).

This species is typically brown or grey in color, with small pale spots on the back and a pale underside. The coat becomes lighter in summer, with the head and shoulders turning pale chestnut (Nowak 1991). Internal cheek pouches are used for carrying food. Its diet consists of herbs and other plants (Smith and Xie 2008). The legs and tail are short, and it has a head-rump measurement of 22-23 cm (Sokolov and Orlov 1980). It is a diurnal species that hibernates (Smith and Xie 2008). Litter size is between 1-9, with June the likely time of parturition (Smith and Xie 2008).

Red List Category

Red List Criteria

Year Assessed

Assessor/s

Reviewer/s

Justification

History

• 1996
  Lower Risk/least concern

Population data for this species are currently unavailable. In Mongolia, it is believed to be most abundant around Gurvansaikhan Mountain.

Decreasing

There are no major threats to this species.

In Mongolia, this species is protected as Rare under the 2001 revision (Mongolian Government Act. No. 264) of the 2000 Law of the Mongolian Animal Kingdom. Listed as Rare under the 1995 Mongolian Hunting Law (MNE 1996), and included as Rare in the 1997 Mongolian Red Book (MNE 1997). It was regionally Red Listed in Mongolia as Endangered under criterion A3c (Clark et al. 2006). Approximately 13% of the species’ range in Mongolia occurs within protected areas. Although it is conserved under Mongolian Protected Area Laws, Hunting Laws, and the Law of the Mongolian Animal Kingdom, no conservation measures specifically aimed at this species have been established to date. In China, there are no known conservation measures in place for this species. It occurs in Luoshan, Baijitan, and Saihanwula Nature Reserves (CSIS 2008) and may be present in additional protected areas. In China, it has been regionally Red Listed as Least Concern (Wang and Xie 2004).