Karaganda medical university is located at the heart of the mining capital – in the city of Karaganda, countless coal deposit. The famous Russian ethnographer A. Gains the first answered the question related to who, when and how opened the deposit of coal in the mountain area Karagandy-basy (rather Kara-tobe). Traveling through vast steppes, he concluded that the discoverer of Karaganda mines ... was an ordinary ground hog. «Ground hogs, – as was written by Gains, – like to pass the winter close to coal seams and getting to it, dig a little deeper. Dug out of the trash is thrown and is the undisputed sign of the presence of coal». Later, Karaganda was founded at this place - the city of miners and the groundhog become the symbol of the city and from 2007 held its rightful place at the emblem of Karaganda. Thus, the mascot of students became the ground hog. Majestic and proud in the mantle and graduation hat, it holds a stethoscope in the foot. Ground hog is not just a simple mascot; it is the mascot with character, reflecting the spirit of the university students - tradition, innovation, leadership!