Furry Friends in Uzbekistan: Cheeky Ground Squirrels at the Tomb of Daniel (Khoja Doniyor) in Samarkand

 

It’s always nice to meet the locals when you go abroad, and of course this includes the local fauna. In Uzbekistan I was introduced to the local ground squirrels. Apparently, you get three subspecies of ground squirrel in Uzbekistan: the long-clawed ground squirrel, the yellow ground squirrel, and the little ground squirrel. I am not sure which ones these were, but would be delighted if someone could tell me! Our tour guide explained that they are quite cheeky and they enjoy playing with humans (from a distance!). He said they are his favourite Uzbek animal.

These squirrels were seen in the grounds of Khoja Doniyor complex in Samarkand, the (alleged) tomb of the Old Testament prophet, Daniel (he of lions’ den fame). As an aside, Daniel’s sarcophagus is 18 metres long, apparently because the dead prophet keeps growing at a rate of approximately 5 centimetres per year (which doesn’t really work mathematically, because if he died around 2,500 years ago, it’d be a lot longer by now). Daniel’s body (well, actually just his arm) was supposedly brought to Samarkand by Tamerlane from Susa in Iraq in the fourteenth century AD, but this is just one of many burial sites claimed for the prophet, as with many biblical figures whose relics seem to far outweigh their likely anatomical proportions in life.

above: Sarcophagus of Daniel, Khoja Doniyor complex, Samarkand

Anyway, here is a dose of cuteness for you (mind you, whilst I was unable to catch it on film, a couple of them did engage in an undignified scrap just after I filmed them!)