When a squirrel sits up to eat or to look around, it often raises its bushy tail up against its back and over its head as if to shade itself. The ancient Greeks noticed this habit, and they called the animal skiouros. This word was made up of skia, meaning "shadow," and oura, "tail." The Romans turned this into the Latin word sciurus, which made its way into early French as esquirel. English squirrel was borrowed from the French.
There are over 365 species of squirrels in seven families. Tree squirrels (gray, red, fox), flying squirrels, chipmunks, marmots (woodchuck), antelope squirrels, ground squirrels, and prairie dogs.
Squirrel's belong to the order "Rodentia", with 1650 species. It is the largest group of living mammals.
Squirrels are usually born in the early spring. The average litter consists of four. This varies with climate and location. A second litter can occur in mid summer, if there is an adequate food supply.
A female squirrel will choose the strongest male during mating season, but is unlikely to breed with that male again. This is natures way of reducing inbreeding, and to preserve the species.
A baby squirrel weighs approximately one ounce at birth, and is about one inch long. They do not have hair or teeth, and are virtually blind for the first six to eight weeks. Squirrels can live up to 10 or 12 years. After six years, they are considered old squirrels.
During winter storms, or severe cold, the squirrel may not leave the nest for days. But, the tree squirrel does not hibernate!
An adult squirrel normally lives alone. But will, in severe cold, share its nest with other squirrels to conserve body heat. Once the temperature rises, the guests will be on their way.
Squirrels eyes are located high, and on each side of their head. This allows them a wide field of vision, without turning their head.
Squirrels chew on tree branches to sharpen and clean their teeth. That's why you may see many small branches on the ground around large trees. They will also chew on power lines for the same reason, this has caused many major power outages throughout the country.
A squirrel's brain is about the size of a walnut. The average adult squirrel needs to eat about a pound of food a week to maintain an active life.
The sweat glands of a tree squirrel are located on their feet, between the foot pads and on their paws between the toes. When hot or excited a squirrel will leave wet tracks on a dry surface. This scent is also used to mark the trees in their territory.
The male tree squirrel takes twice as long, as the female, to groom itself. They are the cleanest animal in the rodent family.
A squirrels teeth grow continuously. Their incisor's will grow six inches per year, but stay short due to the constant wear they receive
Communication
Squirrels communicate through a series of chirps. The frequency, and the duration of the notes communicate everything from laughter to alarm. Their frequency range is normally between .01 KHz. and 10 KHz. (kilohertz). These sounds when used in conjunction with tail gestures, form the basis for squirrel communication.
Their sizes vary considerably. For example, the gray squirrel can be up to three time as large as the red squirrel but smaller than a fox squirrel. A recently born gray squirrel is about one inch long and weighs as little as half and ounce to one ounce. The size of an adult gray squirrel is about 18 inches and can weigh up to a pound or more.
Reproduction
Squirrels start mating when they are a year old. It takes about six weeks from the time the squirrels mate until the baby squirrels, called kittens, are born. Twice a year, in the spring and at the end of the summer, the female squirrel has two to five kittens.
Eating
During their first seven weeks they will nurse milk, and then they will eat nuts, acorns, wheat, fruit, bird's eggs, and mushrooms. Sometimes they will also eat leaves, berries, seeds, oak buds, and corn as well as insects, moths, bird eggs and nestling birds. What they eat depends on the time of year. For example, nuts and acorns are typically eaten during the fall. A squirrel needs about two pounds of food a week. If it can't find it, it will move. When they leave their nests in the summer, young squirrels sometimes need to move to new homes in less crowded woods. The old squirrels drive them away.
Squirrels will typically gather and save nuts and acorns during the last week of autumn, however, they don't eat most of them. Squirrels need calcium in their diet. Calcium is a mineral necessary for the squirrels to keep healthy teeth to be able to bite into an acorn. Without strong teeth, they can starve to death.
Red Squirrels
The adult red squirrel has a body length of 20-22cm and a tail length of 17-18cm. and weighs up to 300 grams . They live mainly in the tree canopy.
Squirrels nest , dreys, is usually built from twigs, leaves and moss. These can be found high up in the branches of trees close to the trunk. They build more than one drey so that they can move when the fleas become intolerable. They also use holes in trees, particularly as breeding sites.
They do not hibernate but bury stores of tree seeds to help them survive winter and early spring. Reds cannot digest tannins in acorns . They eat shoots, buds, fungi, leaves, flowers, insects and fruit.
Like us, they are left and right handed. They can live up to 6 years. They are good swimmers.
Squirrels start breeding in January when the females come into season. If the food supply is good, they may produce 2 litters of about 3-4 young (kittens) during the spring and summer. Kittens are born without hair or teeth and are blind for the first 3-4 weeks. Only around 1 in 6 kittens sees its first birthday. A large number are killed on the roads.
Grey Squirrels
It has been introduced to Britain, where it’s spread across the country and has largely displaced the native Red Squirrel, Sciurus vulgaris. In Ireland, the red squirrel has been displaced in several eastern counties, though it still remains common in the south and west of the country. There are concerns that such displacement might happen in Italy as well.
Fox Squirrels
Fox squirrels are a medium-sized tree squirrel. They are often considered a nuisance species due to their raiding of bird feeders and gardens. They are also responsible for some damage to corn crops. They often use electrical lines as routes of travel, and this can cause power outages. Fox squirrels will threaten one another by standing upright with their tail over their back and flicking it.
Weighing up to two and a half pounds, the fox squirrel is heavier than the gray and is usually 10 to 15 inches long (minus the tail). Fox squirrels prefer small woodlots of mature trees. As with other squirrels, they can produce great damage to property, crops and dwellings
Flying Squirrels
Few people have seen a flying squirrel because they are active only at night. They are more common than many people think. Flying Squirrels are clumsy on the ground, but can glide gracefully from tree to tree. They sometimes share nests and may live in groups of up to 8 adults and juveniles.
Flying squirrels sometimes select den sites in houses , which is undesirable due to the noisy activity at night and the litter from nests and seed caches. Flying squirrels emit a soft low chirp, and they cluck when distressed. They also use scent and touch to communicate with one another
Chipmunk Squirrels
A chipmunk is a friendly, chattering little animal that looks like its cousin the ground squirrel.A chipmunk is smaller and is easily recognized by the light and dark stripes running down its back.Chipmunks live in the forests or forest edges in parts of North America and Asia.
The chipmunk’s home is a burrow dug in the ground, it contains storerooms and a leaf-lined nest.Curing the day, the lively little creatures scamper about the ground looking for seeds and nuts to eat. They have inner cheek pouches which they can stuff with food.People often feed chipmunks for the fun of seeing them fill their cheeks. When they are filled with a load of seeds, each cheek may swell to the size of the head itself.
Chipmunks sleep through much of the winter. But they store food in their burrows to eat during the winter lust in case they should wake up hungry.
Marmots Squirrels
Marmots are members of the genus Marmota, in there rodent family sciuridae(squirrels).
Marmots are generally large ground squirrels. Those most often referred to as marmots tend to live in mountainous areas such as the Alps the Sierra Nevada in the United States, Northern Canada and Deosai plateau in Pakistan .
Marmots typically live in burrows, and hibernate there through the winter. Most marmots are highly social, and use loud whistles to communicate with one another, especially when alarmed.
Marmots mainly eat greens. They eat many types of grasses, berries, lichens, mosses, roots and flowers.
Prairie Dog Squirrels
Prairie dogs spend most hot summer days sleeping and are active above ground mornings and evenings. In cool or overcast weather, prairie dogs may remain above ground all day. They emerge shortly after sunrise, and return to the burrow around sunset. Rain will often drive them to retreat underground.
Prairie dogs have specific activities to perform. A typical day is divided between foraging, interacting with others, maintaining burrows, and scouting for predators. Typically within each coterie, one prairie dog acts as the sentinel, standing on the mound and watching for predators. If danger is detected, the "look-out" warns the other colony members by emitting a series of bark-like whistles, and drop to safety inside his burrow.
Ground Squirrels
The Ground Squirrel lives in all types of forests across. It eats seeds, nuts, berries, insects, and underground fungi. It is eaten by hawks, jays, weasels, foxes, bobcats, and coyotes. Also shot by humans for sport.
A typical adult ranges from 23–30 cm (9–12 inches) in length. The Ground Squirrel can be identified by its chipmunk-like stripes and coloration, but unlike chipmunks, it lacks any facial stripes.
The Ground Squirrel is similar to chipmunks in more than just its appearance. Although it is a traditional hibernator, building up its body fat so to survive the winter asleep, it is also known to store some food in its burrow, like the chipmunk, for consumption upon waking in the spring.
Antelope Squirrels
Antelope-squirrels are smaller than squirrels. They measure 14 to 17 cm (5.5 to 7 in)in length, with a relatively short tail of 6 to 10 cm (2 to 4 in). Their weight rarely exceeds 142 g (5 oz). Their bodies are covered with thin, coarse fur that is light brown with a gray or reddish hue. A narrow white stripe extends from the shoulder to the rump. The belly and underside of the tail are also white. They move quickly, scampering along the ground like chipmunks
Antelopes are found in western North America. Antelope-squirrels live in dry environments, including deserts, from Oregon in the northwestern part of the United States through California to northern Mexico. They are found as far east as western Texas. Their habitat typically has little vegetation to climb on, so antelope-squirrels spend most of their lives on the ground or in underground burrows.
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The antelope-squirrel’s diet is largely made up of plant material, such as seeds, roots, and fruit. They also eat insects and scavenge dead animals. Like many squirrels, they have cheek pouches, which they use to carry food to storage areas in or near their burrows. Antelope-squirrels are active during the day.
Antelope-squirrels are inactive in winter, but they do not hibernate.
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