Forest squirrel - description of the animal: where it lives and sleeps, what it eats, why a hollow is needed

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Animals
Squirrel

The squirrel is a small animal that spends most of its life at heights, moving along tree crowns and branches. Sometimes it descends to find food that has fallen to the ground. For example, nuts, acorns, mushrooms. They stock up their food and store it in hollows to preserve their supplies for the winter. In this way they dry the mushrooms, stringing them on twigs and twigs. They hide their supplies in hollows or in moss and easily find them when the time comes. If there is a poor harvest on their territory, squirrels can travel many kilometers in search of food. In summer they can also hunt insects. Looking for ripe berries.

The squirrel weighs 200-500 grams. This low weight helps them jump easily on branches. The body length is 50-80 centimeters, and about half is the tail. The tail also helps balance when jumping; with its help, the squirrel can change its flight path. They jump up to 4 meters in length. Squirrels change their coats from summer to winter. In summer it is red and light, and in winter it is gray and warm. In winter, ear tufts are more visible. Moreover, in winter, squirrels lead a more active lifestyle than in summer. Since summer time is mainly occupied by obtaining food for the cold season. They create warm nests from thin twigs, or arrange a home inside a hollow. Nests are usually located high on a tree, among the branches, and it is very difficult to see them from below.

In April and June, squirrels give birth to babies. Pregnancy lasts about 5 months. Baby squirrels are born blind and without hair. Their eyes open only a month after birth. One litter can have from 3 to 10 baby squirrels, depending on the amount of food. The poorer the food of an adult squirrel, the fewer babies will appear. For the first month and a half, they feed on their mother's milk, like other mammals.

Under natural conditions, squirrels do not live long - about 3 years. This is because they are hunted by predators. These include martens, sables, birds, and harza. Moreover, the marten is the most dangerous, since it hunts at night and is capable of penetrating into a squirrel hollow and attacking sleeping animals. A domesticated squirrel can live up to 10-12 years, since at home it will be protected from frost and predators, and there will always be plenty of food.

Appearance

A small rodent of the squirrel family. Spends most of its life in trees. The most notable in appearance are the long fluffy tail, large ears with tassels and a beautiful fluffy coat. The paws have long, sharp claws for climbing trees.

The body length varies from 20 to 30 centimeters, while the tail length is 10-17 centimeters. The weight is also small - 250-350 grams.

The color of the animal is influenced by its habitat and time of year. Animals with darker fur live in coniferous forests. Here you can find a forest squirrel with a completely black color.

In deciduous forests, squirrels have reddish-red fur coats. In summer, the fur has more reddish-brown shades, and in winter - gray. Moreover, regardless of the habitat, the fur on the abdomen of any squirrel is always light.

Belk's report

Everyone knows from childhood that a squirrel is a wild animal, but there are cases when a person got a squirrel as a pet. This cute little squirrel has won the hearts of all people on earth. The body of the fluffy is very slender, there are tufts on the ears and a large fluffy tail. The body length of this animal is approximately twenty to forty centimeters. The weight of a squirrel is no more than one kilogram. The tail of a miniature squirrel acts instead of a rudder when jumping; the squirrel's tail can easily change direction.

This animal has very strong and sharp teeth, with their help it chews food. The furry animal has well-developed hearing and vision, which is a great help in case of danger; the animal also makes a sound that warns other squirrels of danger.

In winter, the squirrel's fur takes on a red tint, and in summer it turns gray. These animals live in the forest and make their own hollow out of twigs and leaves. The squirrel loves to feast on nuts, seeds, mushrooms, and berries. For the winter, an adult female collects about two thousand mushrooms.

Winters can be very harsh, so in winter up to five or more squirrels gather in one hollow. Also, for the winter, squirrels cover their hollow with moss and do not leave their home in severe frosts.

On average, one squirrel gives birth to eight to ten babies per year. The offspring are born blind and without fur. The mother warms and cares for her offspring for several months.

There are fifty-four species of squirrels on earth, here are some of them:

Common squirrel.
White-striped squirrel.
Baby squirrel.
Two-color squirrel.
Western gray squirrel.
Indian giant squirrel.
Cape ground squirrel.
Carolina squirrel.
Red squirrel.
Cream squirrel.

Habitats

The habitat of this furry rodent is a vast area. They are found in all forest zones, from the Atlantic coast to Kamchatka. They also live on Sakhalin and the island of Hokkaido.

The squirrel is a tree dweller. It prefers to settle on coniferous trees, but is found in any forest. In general, there should be enough food in places where squirrels live. If the year is rich in cedar and spruce cones, then the animal settles in cedar and spruce forests.

When the yield of seeds from coniferous trees is low, the animal can actively search for mushrooms, of which there are always more in pine forests. By the way, this furry animal often lives in city parks, as well as in the attics and attics of human houses.

Lifestyle and habits

Most of the life of these rodents is spent high in the trees, but they also have to descend to the ground. To move on the ground, they use jumps, the length of which reaches 1 meter.

Living in trees, this animal can jump perfectly. One of the functions of the bushy tail is as a steering wheel when jumping from tree to tree.

In warm weather, during the day she tirelessly collects food, occasionally basking motionless in the sun. From some of the food found, it makes provisions for the future, including for the winter.

When snow makes movement difficult, the animal climbs into its nest and waits out unfavorable conditions in a half-asleep state. Leads a daily lifestyle. When nocturnal predators go hunting, she goes to sleep in a hollow or nest.

He makes the nest himself, but how squirrels make a hollow will be discussed in more detail below.

When next to a person, he can beg for something tasty, and he can do it in an impudent manner. It looks very funny, and people, as a rule, like such arrogance. He also willingly checks human-made bird feeders.

Every year, from late summer to early autumn, these animals begin to migrate in search of food, which is no longer sufficient in the old places. Travels alone, without forming large aggregations.

Features and habitat of squirrels

These wonderful animals live everywhere except Australia. For them, the main thing is that there are groves, deep forests, and dense parks. For some reason, squirrels avoid places that are too sunny. In terms of housing, this animal is very thoughtful.

They either make a house for themselves in the hollows of trees, or build a nest in a tree not far from the trunk, worrying in advance that the home is protected from difficult weather conditions.

Twigs, moss, and an old bird's nest are building materials for squirrel nests. In order to hold it all together, they most often use clay and earth.

A distinctive feature in their nest is two exits, the main one - the main one and a spare one, as a strategic exit in times of possible danger. This fact speaks about what kind of animal the squirrel is ; it is friendly, but not so trusting.

Nutrition

Most people believe that it is exclusively a herbivore. Indeed, the most favorite delicacy is the seeds of cedar, spruce, and larch cones. The forest squirrel also eats berries, mushrooms, roots and other plant foods.

However, when there is a shortage of food, as well as during reproduction, larvae, insects, small amphibians and even eggs and small chicks are added to the diet.

Wintering

Hollow

Spending most of their lives on trees, these animals build nests for themselves. They are built in the form of a ball from flexible twigs. The inside of such dwellings is insulated with moss and the animals’ own hair.

Will a person who is not specifically interested accidentally hear the name of a squirrel’s nest? There are few chances. Gaino is the name of not only a squirrel’s nest, but also the nests of other animals.

It can build a tree either in a hollow or in a fork of a tree between thick branches at a height of 5-17 meters. In addition to the main entrance, a small emergency entrance must be built from the side of the trunk to escape from uninvited guests.

The number of nests in one squirrel can reach 15 pieces. Each squirrel nest has its own purpose. Often the animals are forced to change their homes by the parasites that live in their nests.

The male squirrel does not build a nest. He occupies abandoned squirrel nests or completes abandoned bird nests.

Where do squirrels live in winter? In winter, they live in insulated nests, which are often built in hollows. During wintering, one squirrel nest can be occupied by 3-6 individuals. Having carefully plugged the entrance with moss, the animals try to warm each other. A fluffy tail also helps to stay warm during winter.

During severe frosts, the temperature inside the nest where the squirrels sleep can reach 15-20 degrees, so they are in no hurry to leave it until it warms up.

Reserves

The animal prepares in advance for a warm and satisfying winter. Knows how to choose food that will not spoil all winter. Hollow trees are often used as storage areas. It can also hide food underground between tree roots.

Having made the necessary food reserves, the squirrel forgets about them. She will later discover most of them by chance when inspecting suitable places. It happens that she comes across supplies of other animals: mice or chipmunks. From reserves that are not found by either the squirrel or other animals, new trees can grow.

Reproduction

They reproduce 2-3 times a year. The mating season begins in late February - early March. Males begin to constantly fight among themselves. 5-6 males run after one female. As a result, she chooses the strongest one to mate.

Immediately after the squirrels mate, the female spends 4-5 days building a nest for the offspring with greater accuracy. This nest is larger than usual. The squirrel's pregnancy lasts for 40 days.

Then blind, deaf and naked cubs are born. Their number varies from 3 to 10. When squirrels have baby squirrels, the female takes all care of them.

After 14 days, the baby squirrels are covered with fur, and after a month they become sighted. After another month and a half, the young individuals become independent. After about 13 weeks, the squirrel has her next litter.

With very high fertility, only one to four individuals remain from each litter after a year. The reason is such enemies of squirrels as birds of prey and animals of the weasel family. Moreover, hunting a squirrel that has not fully matured often turns out to be successful.

How many years do squirrels live in captivity when they are protected from their natural enemies? In favorable conditions, a squirrel can live 10-12 years.

In the wild, where an animal can die from various diseases, the life expectancy of a squirrel is on average 3-4 years.