Squirrels

Feeding

Squirrels eat nuts and berries, though some species eat small birds, snakes, or mammals. In the early spring, squirrels are hungrier than usual, so they eat a lot of buds. Squirrels have four long teeth that never stop growing, to make sure they don’t wear down too much when they gnaw hard nuts. 

Tree-dwelling squirrels are more solitary than ground-dwelling squirrels.

Breeding

Squirrels breed normally once or twice a year after three or six weeks, differing between the species. Baby squirrels are born blind, toothless and helpless. Squirrels are mature at one year old.

Nocturnalism

Ground and tree squirrels are normally most active during the day. Flying squirrels are usually nocturnal. But sometimes flying squirrels go through a period of also being awake and about in daytime. 

Habitat

Squirrels live in deserts and rainforests, but they don’t much like really dry deserts or very cold areas. They do not like the high mountainous areas, but are happy with scampering about in the trees of a forest, park, or wilderness. Squirrels are very common. They have soft pads on their paws, and their front legs are smaller and shorter than their strong back legs, which are used to jump from branch to branch.

Looks

Squirrels are usually just bigger than mice or rats. Some are really small, and some are named after their gigantic size: giant squirrels!

Squirrels have short, soft fur and a long, bushy tail. They sometimes have stripes down their sides, and they can be lots of different colours, like gray or brown. 

Squirrels are closely related to marmots.