Some Random Squirrel Trivia For Squirrel Awareness Month

Since we're in the middle of Squirrel Awareness Month, and since I've been having a hard time coming up with new lines for the SAM carol (see my previous posts), I thought I'd offer up some interesting squirrel facts.

There are 278 species of squirrels in the world. They are native to every continent except Australia and Antarctica.

Squirrel species are grouped into three broad categories: ground squirrels (including chipmunks, marmots, and groundhogs); tree squirrels; and flying squirrels.

Gray squirrels have a bite force of around 7,000 pounds per square inch (psi). For comparison, most humans have a bite force around 500 psi.

Like other rodents, squirrels' incisors grow constantly throughout their lives. They must keep them worn down by gnawing to avoid having the teeth become impacted.

Squirrels cannot vomit.

Flying squirrels are able to glide between trees for distances of 150 yards or more. They do so using a flap of skin, called the patagium, that extends on each side of the body between the forearm and leg.

The word "squirrel" comes from two Greek words: skia meaning shade or shadow, and oura meaning tail.

The earliest squirrel known from the fossil record was protosciurus, which lived in North America around 37 million years ago.

Many ground squirrels hibernate during the cold winter months. However, tree squirrels do not hibernate. This is a common misconception.

Most adult tree squirrels, including the eastern gray squirrel, nest alone. However, in cold weather several squirrels will temporarily nest together to share body heat.

Squirrels can control the flow of blood to their tails. This helps the squirrel to regulate its body heat by altering the blood flow. It also helps ground squirrels defend against predators such as snakes that hunt by detecting heat, by allowing the squirrel to make itself look bigger and more threatening.

Squirrels' sweat glands are in the pads of their feet. On a hot day a squirrel may leave tiny wet footprints on a sidewalk.

Squirrels are diurnal, or awake and active during the day. Tree squirrels are most active early in the morning and late in the evening.

Gray squirrels often build more than one nest, or drey, especially when raising young. This way, if one nest is damaged or threatened by a predator, they will have a backup nest to move to.

Squirrels love pumpkins, and are adept at carving jack-o-lanterns.

Phew, that was hard work!

Before burying a nut, a gray squirrel will lick the nut to apply its scent to it. This helps the squirrel locate the nut later.

A gray squirrel weighing about a pound needs to eat its weight in nuts, seeds, and other food every week.

During hibernation, the body temperature of the arctic ground squirrel can drop to below freezing, as low as 27 degrees F. This is the lowest naturally occurring body temperature of any mammal.

Eastern gray squirrels, which are about 15 inches long, can jump up to six feet vertically and eight feet horizontally.

Prairie dogs live in "towns" that may contain dozens of family groups, and can cover hundreds of acres.

Rabies is virtually unknown in squirrels. There is no record of a human ever being infected with rabies through a squirrel bite.

Tree squirrels can rotate their hind feet 180 degrees at the ankles. This helps them to quickly and easily descend tree trunks head first.

Catching Up With Squirrel Awareness Month

After a busy few days, it's time to catch up on our Squirrel Awareness Month carol. So without any further ado,

On the tenth day of Squirrel Awareness Month my squirrel love gave to me

Ten nut butter sandwiches,

Nine bottles of Black Squirrel Ale,

Eight fuzzy stuffed squirrels,

Seven smelly snakeskins,

Six comfy dreys,

Five giant sweet peanut patties shaped like Texas,

Four cups of nuts,

Three Baby Ruth bars,

Two ice cream cones,

And an acorn in an oak tree!

Squirrels are known for their love of peanuts. Even though this isn't a food that they would encounter often in the wild, humans have found that a few peanuts (or a few handfuls of peanuts) are always appreciated by their local park squirrels. And as the squirrel in this video will tell you, a jar peanut butter is a treat worth going to some extra effort for!




An Oregon company has been gaining a following lately with some products that any squirrel would love. Wild Squirrel Nut Butter, started by a pair of University of Oregon students, offers a variety of almond and peanut butters with flavorings such as chocolate, cinnamon, and coconut. You can order online or find their nut butters in many stores if you are lucky enough to live in the Pacific Northwest.

I'm hoping that this product will make it into some of the stores here in Texas. In the meantime, maybe my mention here in The News For Squirrels will be rewarded with a free sample (hint hint).

A Brilliant Disguise: The Seventh Day of Squirrel Awareness Month

On the seventh day of Squirrel Awareness Month my squirrel love gave to me

Seven smelly snakeskins,

Six comfy dreys,

Five giant sweet peanut patties shaped like Texas,

Four cups of nuts,

Three Baby Ruth bars,

Two ice cream cones,

And an acorn in an oak tree!

California ground squirrels have an ingenious trick to fool one of their predators, the rattlesnake. When a ground squirrel comes across a shed snakeskin, it will rub the skin over its fur, coating itself with the snake's scent. This confuses any rattlesnake that threatens the squirrel and its young.

If a rattlesnake wanders into the area of a California ground squirrel colony, the squirrels will not wait for it to attack. They will go on the offensive against the snake, confronting it, kicking dirt at it, and waving their tails. These squirrels are even able to shunt extra blood to the veins in the tail, heating it up. Since the snake detects heat more effectively than it sees, this makes the squirrels appear larger and more threatening to the rattler.

Here is a video that demonstrates how effectively these little ground squirrels deal with a threatening rattlesnake:

The Drey: The Sixth Day of Squirrel Awareness Month

On the sixth day of Squirrel Awareness Month my squirrel love gave to me

Six comfy dreys,

Five giant sweet peanut patties shaped like Texas,

Four cups of nuts,

Three Baby Ruth bars,

Two ice cream cones,

And an acorn in an oak tree!

The drey, the familiar tree squirrel nest made of sticks and leaves, may look like a precariously constructed home. But squirrels are master builders, and the typical drey is not only secure but quite comfortable as well. A gray squirrel in her drey will be dry during rainy weather and well protected from the wind and cold. Here is what it looks like inside a typical drey:

Most squirrels, especially females with young, build multiple dreys within their territories. This way, if one drey is damaged, becomes infested with insects, or is threatened by a nearby predator, there is always at least one backup. A mother squirrel can move an entire litter of young from one drey to another within a few minutes. This is why you will often see more dreys than squirrels in a given area.

The Fifth Day of Squirrel Awareness Month

On the fifth day of Squirrel Awareness Month my squirrel love gave to me

Five giant sweet peanut patties shaped like Texas,

Four cups of nuts,

Three Baby Ruth bars,

Two ice cream cones,

And an acorn in an oak tree!

Tree squirrels, especially eastern grays, have been noted for the wide variety of foods that they enthusiastically accept. There is even a whole web site devoted to investigating what they will eat and what (if anything) they will turn up their noses at. Although mostly vegetarian, gray squirrels will happily scarf down many of the foods that humans offer them or simply leave behind, from french fries to pizza to (as noted here a few days ago) ice cream. I'm sure any squirrel would be happy to dig into one of these novelty peanut treats!

October Is Squirrel Awareness Month!

This is an important time of year for squirrels! Summer is over, the weather is getting cooler, it's the time for finding, and hiding, nuts to get through the long cold winter ahead.

And it's also time for Squirrel Awareness Month.

This is the perfect time to get to know the squirrels in your yard and in your neighborhood. How best to do this? You can take a walk in the park and watch the squirrels and other animals there.

You can put food out in your own yard for the squirrels, and watch as they come to eat. WalMart and many other stores sell squirrel food mixes and dried corn to nourish your bushy-tailed friends. You can also simply put out some black oil sunflower seeds. If you have bird feeders in your yard, of course, you are well aware that squirrels are inventive at gaining access to those.

Of course, another way to learn more about squirrels is by reading The News For Squirrels. But of course that goes without saying.