You’ll spot animals that look or act like squirrels all over the world, from burrowing marmots to chatty prairie dogs.
If you’re searching for quick ways to figure out which animals are actually squirrel relatives and which ones just have similar looks, this guide lays out clear traits and examples so you can ID them in no time.
As you look around, you’ll run into close relatives like marmots and chipmunks, along with other critters that just happen to have bushy tails, climbing skills, or those adorable cheek pouches.
Check out the simple ID tips and photos below to spot the little differences that matter. It might just make your next walk outside a bit more interesting.
Key Animals Similar to Squirrels
These animals share obvious traits with squirrels: bushy tails, strong front teeth, and a habit of digging or storing food.
You’ll see striped chipmunks, big marmots, social prairie dogs, and gliding flying squirrels—all fitting into the squirrel family in their own ways.
Chipmunks: Striped Fur and Cheek Pouches
Chipmunks are small members of the squirrel family with bold stripes on their faces and backs.
Species like the least chipmunk, alpine chipmunk, and Colorado chipmunk show off five to seven dark stripes on brownish coats. Their cheek pouches let them haul seeds and nuts back to a safe spot.
Most chipmunks belong to the ground squirrel group (genus Tamias) and zip along logs or dash into burrows.
Allen’s chipmunk and the lodgepole chipmunk stick to mountain forests, while the least chipmunk likes open fields and rock piles. Chipmunks are quick, noisy, and usually forage on the ground instead of in trees.
Key ID points:
- Stripes across head and back
- Cheek pouches for carrying food
- Smaller than most tree squirrels
Marmots and Groundhogs: Ground-Dwelling Squirrel Relatives
Marmots are big, chunky rodents in the squirrel family, and you’ll find them in alpine and open places.
Some species include the hoary marmot, Alaska marmot (Marmota caligata), Vancouver marmot, and yellow-bellied marmot. Groundhogs (or woodchucks, Marmota monax) are the common lowland marmots in North America.
Marmots dig roomy burrows and hibernate during winter.
You’ll often spot them sunning on rocks and hear their loud whistles warning the group. Their bulky bodies and short legs make them stand out from tree squirrels, but they still have those gnawing teeth and a social, territorial streak.
Notable traits:
- Large, heavy bodies and blunt faces
- Complex burrow systems for homes and hibernation
- Loud alarms and visible social groups
Prairie Dogs: Social Burrowers in the Squirrel Family
Prairie dogs are super social ground squirrels that live in big colonies called towns.
Species like the black-tailed prairie dog, white-tailed prairie dog, Gunnison’s prairie dog, and Cynomys leucurus build massive burrow networks with separate rooms for nesting, raising young, and storing food.
You’ll hear all kinds of barks and calls as they warn each other about predators.
Prairie dogs munch on grasses and herbs and rarely climb trees. Their towns can cover hundreds of acres and show off some pretty complex social behavior, including teamwork and detailed alarm calls.
Prairie dog features:
- Huge, shared burrow systems
- Strong social ties in the colony
- Grass-based diet and grazing on the surface
Flying Squirrels: Gliding Mammals with Bushy Tails
Flying squirrels glide by stretching out a flap of skin called a patagium from wrist to ankle.
You’ll notice their big eyes for night vision and a flat, bushy tail that helps them steer while gliding. They can’t really fly, but they can glide 30–100 feet from tree to tree.
Most flying squirrels come out at night and eat nuts, fungi, and insects.
Their soft fur and wide patagium make them look different from tree squirrels, but they’re still part of the Sciuridae family and have similar teeth, claws, and food-stashing habits. Watching one glide at dusk is honestly pretty cool.
Key ID points:
- Skin membrane between limbs for gliding
- Big eyes for nighttime activity
- Bushy tail for balance and steering
Other Notable Squirrel Look-Alikes
You’ll come across plenty of small mammals that look like squirrels thanks to their bodies, tails, or how they move.
A lot of them live near water or in burrows, eat plants or seeds, and can be mistaken for squirrels if you’re just glancing.
Muskrats, Nutria, and Beavers: Aquatic Resemblances
Muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus), nutria (also called coypu), and beavers all have chunky bodies and prefer to live near water.
Muskrats are smaller, with a laterally flattened tail and thick fur. They build lodges or dig burrows at the edges of ponds and munch on aquatic plants.
Nutria are bigger than muskrats, have long orange teeth, and were brought outside South America for their fur. Their tails are rounder and not as flat as a muskrat’s.
Beavers are the biggest of the bunch, with flat, paddle-shaped tails and powerful teeth for cutting down trees.
You might mistake a beaver for a huge, slow squirrel if you just catch a glimpse of its tail or shape. But there are differences: beavers reshape waterways and have webbed feet; muskrats swim with their tails and dig bank tunnels; nutria graze on marsh plants and sometimes damage vegetation.
Dormice and Hamsters: Small Mammals with Shared Traits
Dormice are tiny, tree-loving rodents with bushy tails and spend long periods hibernating.
You’ll find them in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Dormice like to nest in tree hollows or thick shrubs and eat fruits, nuts, and insects.
Their furry tails and round eyes give them a squirrel-like vibe, especially if you spot one dashing through a garden or woodland.
Hamsters (subfamily Cricetinae) are short-tailed, chunky rodents that people keep as pets and also live wild in Eurasia.
Unlike tree squirrels, hamsters mostly live in burrows and carry food in their cheek pouches. Their compact bodies and fur patterns might remind you of little ground squirrels, but hamsters don’t have long, bushy tails and tend to stick close to the ground.
Pocket Mice, Shrews, and Similar Small Rodents
Pocket mice, like the plains pocket mouse (Perognathus flavescens), are tiny seed-eaters. They stash seeds in their fur-lined cheek pouches, which is honestly kind of adorable.
At night, these little guys hop around and forage on the ground. You’ll notice their slender bodies and those surprisingly long hind feet.
Sure, their size and seed-loving habits make them seem like miniature ground squirrels. But pocket mice are much smaller, and they really go for dry, arid places.
Shrews—think short-tailed shrews like Blarina brevicauda—hunt insects instead of seeds. They dart around with pointed snouts, always on the move.
They’re not rodents, even though you might assume so at first glance. Shrews don’t have those classic chewing incisors like squirrels.
Some shrew species hide in leaf litter or dig out shallow burrows. You’ll spot their dense fur, sometimes striped, sometimes just plain, but you won’t find bushy tails here.
