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Squirrels

Now you might be thinking, what could be so interesting about a squirrel?

I see them all of the time all over the place. All they do is bury nuts and steal birdseed, right?

What’s so special about them? Well, there is a lot more to these furry mammals than meets the eye.

squirrels

For instance, did you know that there are over 200 different species of squirrels? Probably not!

Let’s take a look at some other interesting facts about these cute and cuddly tree dwellers.

Also Read: Groundhog day facts for kids

Quick Squirrel Facts

  • Squirrels may discover food buried beneath a foot of snow.
  • The front teeth of a squirrel are constantly expanding.
  • The largest squirrels are seven times bigger than the tiniest
  • In the winter, lone tree squirrels get friendly with one another.
  • Squirrels are capable of jumping up to 20 feet. 
  • Squirrels are intelligent animals that can learn to traverse a variety of barriers to find the quickest path to food. 
  • 25% of the food that squirrels bury may get stolen by thieves.
  • Squirrels may consume up to 1.5 pounds of their own body weight per week.
  • A male squirrel can detect a female in heat up to a mile away.
  • Squirrels may fall from a height of 30 meters without hurting themselves.

Fun Facts About Squirrels

Squirrels are not so similar to rats, but like rats, they are rodents.

The more than 200 different species of squirrel live all over the world including Chipmunk, and many others.

They belong to the Sciuridae family, and are native to every continent, with the exception of Antarctica and Australia.

map of australia

Just like rats and mice, a squirrel’s front teeth will continue to grow throughout its life. This makes them great for chewing and gnawing.

Have you ever noticed that squirrels have large eyes?

squirrel-large-eyes

These help them to see where they are going when climbing trees and escaping from other animals who might attack them (predators).

Most tree-dwelling squirrels prefer to live alone. They will, however, group together during especially cold weather.

Ground squirrels, such as prairie dogs, prefer to live together in large groups at all times. This helps to keep them safe from predators.

While squirrels are famous for their love of nuts, they are actually omnivores – meaning they eat plants and meat.

squirrels-love-nuts

They have been known to eat many different kinds of meat, and will occasionally scavenge off of carcasses.

Gray squirrels are masters at finding their buried nuts. Thanks to their wonderful sense of smell, they usually recover around 80 percent of all the nuts they bury!

The 20 percent that they don’t get to eat will usually grow into oak trees.

oak-trees-from-nuts

Squirrels are born blind.

Go to our Animals page.

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