Hi friends! It’s been a while since I’ve added to my Explore Your Backyard series. I’ve been so consumed with holidays and gray days that I haven’t really given my backyard much thought, but that changes today!
Squirrels are year-round critters, meaning they don’t hibernate. They are homeotherms, which means they are able to maintain the same body temperature despite changes in temperature around them.
Since these cute little guys are one of the few things I see in my backyard in February I thought it fitting that they be the star of today’s post.
Without further ado, here are a few fun facts about squirrels!
Fun Facts About Squirrels
Here in Indiana, we have 4 different species of squirrels:
- Fox Squirrel
- Gray Squirrel
- Red Squirrel
- Southern Flying Squirrel
In this post, I’m focused mainly on the Fox squirrel and the Gray squirrel as those are most prevalent in my area.
Fox Squirrel vs. Gray Squirrel
The most notable difference in appearance between the Fox squirrel and the Gray squirrel is the color of their bellies. The Fox squirrel has a rust-colored belly while the Gray squirrel has a white belly.
Fox squirrels are the largest of the two reaching lengths of 18-29 inches plus a tail length of 8-13 inches. Gray squirrels are considerably small at 9-12 inches with a 10-12 inch tail.
When are squirrels most active? When do they sleep?
Both species sleep during the night, however, their daytime activities vary a bit. Gray squirrels tend to be active at dawn and dusk while Fox squirrels are active during the day.
Extra Fun Fact: Gray squirrels are crepuscular, which means they are active in the early morning and late evening.
Squirrel Habitat
Both species spend much of their lives in trees. They prefer dense hardwood forests. Gray squirrels can be found in lowlands and brushy bottomlands along rivers. Fox squirrels prefer forests on higher ridges.
Squirrel nests are called dreys or dry nests. They look like clumps of leaves up high in the trees. Squirrels can also claim a cavity in a tree and line it with the same materials they use when they construct nests – leaves, twigs, and bark.
Squirrels have to sniff out their food
Squirrels stash away food all over the place by burying it in the ground. Squirrels can sniff out their food even under a foot of snow. They tend to lose roughly 25% of their stash to thieves and/or forgetting where they placed something.
Extra Fun Fact: Squirrels have developed an anti-theft technique called ‘deceptive caching” where they pretend to dig and hide food to throw off potential thieves.
Extra Fun Fact: What I consider to be the most fun fact about squirrels is that they are tiny little gardeners. The caches of food they bury for storage, if forgotten or are not eaten, eventually start growing into plants and trees. They are responsible for a lot of new trees!
Baby Squirrels
Mother squirrels have between 2-4 babies in each litter. Baby squirrels are called kits or kittens. Newborn squirrels are only an inch long! Baby squirrels leave the next around 3 months old and are fully grown by 9 months old.
You can find so much information on squirrel babies HERE.
Their front teeth never stop growing
Squirrels have to gnaw and chew on everything because their front teeth never stop growing. The constant gnawing helps keep them at bay, otherwise, they would grow into the lower jaw.
I hope you enjoyed this squirrel-centric post =) stay tuned to see who or what is featured in my next Explore Your Backyard post!
