Facts about Squirrels

There are more than 300 species of squirrels in 7 families. Squirrels are of different types such as ground squirrels, tree squirrels, flying squirrels and fox squirrels. Squirrels are seen in different colors such as gray, white, red and black. They have a life span of 5 to 7 years. Squirrels have not evolved since the last 37 years. It is an amusing sight to watch them jump here and there. Here is the scientific classification of squirrels.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Suborder: Sciuromorpha
Family: Sciuridae

Interesting Information About Squirrels

• A squirrel's brain is almost the size of a walnut.
• Squirrels start mating when they are a year old. Male is the cleaner sex in squirrels. A male squirrel makes a sneezing sound when ready to mate. The mating season for them mostly begins in the late winters where they are most active.
• Majority of the squirrels mate twice a year. The female squirrel gives birth to 4 or 8 offspring.
• The newborn squirrels are naked (without fur) and are called kittens. They remain blind for almost 2 months or more.
• Squirrels are so fast that they can run at the speed of 20 miles per hour.
• A squirrel stands motionless on two feet when it senses danger.
• The tail helps the squirrel to balance its body while jumping.
• A squirrel can survive even if it jumps from a height of 100 ft. as it has padded feet.
• Squirrels hardly move out of their nests in the night. They get back to their nests before it gets dark.
• Squirrels are not sexually dimorphic, that is, both males and females are of the same size.
• They communicate with their distinctive chirps.

Information About Squirrel's Body Structure

• A small squirrel is about 8 to 10 cm in height and an adult squirrel is 20 to 30 cm long. A squirrel's tail is of the same size as that of its body. The small ones weigh around 10 to 12g and the big ones weigh 7 to 8 kg.
• They have very sharp nails with which they take a good grip on the trees.
• Another interesting fact about squirrels is that they have sweat glands on their feet.
• Squirrels have such sharp teeth that they can break the hard shells of nuts, and also chew the electric wires.
• They sharpen their teeth by chewing branches of trees.
• Their teeth continue to grow.
• The position of the eyes of a squirrel is such that it can also see things at the back, which makes it so alert.
• They have double-jointed hind legs that help them quickly climb trees up and down.

Food Information About Squirrels

• Squirrels are mostly vegetarian but sometimes they do eat small insects, small birds or bird eggs. They also love seeds, tree buds, berries, etc.
• A squirrel has a very large appetite. In a week's time, it eats a quantity of food that is almost equal to its body weight.
• Their method of food storage is interesting. They collect nuts and bury them in the soil as a provision for winters and look for them when they need food the most. Squirrels remember where they have buried these nuts as their memory increases by 15% in the fall. Now that's another interesting fact about squirrels.
• As the squirrels have a habit of storing their food (nuts and seeds) in the ground, many trees have grown from them.
• Ground squirrels dig into the ground to hide and preserve their food.

Information About Squirrels Of Different Colors

• There are squirrels that are black, white, gray, brown and red.
• Many of the Americans have not seen a black squirrel.
• Black and gray squirrels are the friendliest squirrels once they get used to human beings. These squirrels are mostly found in Ontario, Canada.
• Black squirrels stay warmer as their color absorbs more radiation from the sun.
• Gray squirrels are the most common ones in the world. They are mostly referred to as the Eastern gray squirrels.
• White squirrels are rare and are mostly found in South East Asia and Thailand.
• The red squirrel is smaller than the eastern gray squirrel. A red squirrel is a common sight in Eurasia.
• A Kaibab squirrel has a black body and a white tail.

Facts About Squirrels That Fly!

• Well, the flying squirrel does not literally fly, but due to its skin flaps that join the front and hind legs, it can glide from one tree to another.
• The flying squirrel has a flat furry tail that is used while gliding. Flying squirrels are active mostly at dusk and dawn.
• They have eyes that are adapted to night vision.
• Flying squirrels are mostly brown or black in color and have a white furred belly.
• They mostly roam on the ground for food.
• You might like to read about pet flying squirrels.

Squirrels are very hardworking, swift, and independent mammals. They say that squirrels, especially the black ones, are a sign of good luck. So, I hope you see one in your backyard someday.