A ground-dwelling squirrel without stripes, it lives in dry grasslands and scrub in East Africa. It forages by day and uses burrows for shelter.
Its color varies geographically, but it is generally tawny to reddish brown with a darker back. It has white rings around the eyes and lacks back stripes. Individuals in northern areas are described as paler.
It is diurnal and mainly solitary. It uses burrows and searches for seeds, fruit, roots and leaves. A burrow may sometimes be shared with another adult.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.