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Squirrels facts

Scientific name: Sciurus carolinensis

Class: Rodent mammals

Familly Sciuridae

Order: Omnivorous

Life span:
Average in nature: 5 years
Maximum in the wild: 12 years
In captivity: 15 to 20 years


Squirrels have one to three gestation periods a year. The first reproductive season takes place between February and April, the second between June and August. Mating starts with a loud whistling of the male to call the females. The female slips away leaving behind small amounts of urine and the male follows her. The coupling itself only lasts a few minutes.

Squirrels live in urban areas of North America and Europe. It adapts very well to the presence of human dwellings. His main home is the forest because he needs undergrowth to hide from his predators. He finds comfort on a bare branch or hollow trunk, where he builds his nest with moss, duvet, dry grass and feathers.

The squirrel, a bandit?

Squirrels often take electrical cables as playgrounds, so they are the cause of several power outages, confirmed Hydro-Quebec. They aren’t the only animals bandits, several others are at the origin of its damage!

What's the use of the squirrel's tail?

Their bushy tail sometimes serves as a «blanket» to keep warm when it's cold. It also allows to give an alarm or danger signal when it is slammed on the ground

Is the squirrel smart?

Squirrels are noted intelligent, the number of ten in the intelligence of the ten most intelligent animals.

Squirrel an ecological being?

When squirrels prepare their food for winter, they hide their seeds on part of their territory. Squirrels often do not find them and seeds germinate and make trees. The squirrel is therefore partly responsible for growing forests.

What does the squirrel do in the winter?

The squirrel doesn’t hibernate, but in winter it is less active on cold days. He can sometimes stay several days in his nest, otherwise he continues his normal activities.

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