Common squirrel - characteristic features of the common squirrel. Brief information about the squirrel of the common taiga squirrel

Squirrels (Sciurus) is a genus small mammals animals from the order of rodents and an extensive family of squirrels. The animals are known for their luxurious, fluffy tail and interesting feature hide significant stocks of nuts for the winter.

Squirrel on a branch.

The first squirrels appeared on earth about 100 thousand years ago, and today their genus includes 29 species, most of which live in the North and South America. All types of protein are united by a typical appearance and characteristic habits, and the differences are mainly in the color of the fur and areas of distribution. Only one representative of the genus lives on the territory of Russia - the common squirrel, which is also called veksha.

Photo: a squirrel eats a nut.

Animals from other genera, such as chipmunk, palm, giant or baby squirrel, are also called squirrels, although they do not belong to the genus Sciurus.

What do squirrels look like?

Squirrels are rather fragile and graceful creatures with an elongated body, about 30 cm long and weighing from 250 to 400 g. growing on the sides of the tail. The front legs of the animals are much shorter than the hind legs and end in long, tenacious fingers with sharp claws.

The head of the squirrel is small and rounded, and the muzzle is short and sharp. The eyes of the animals are large, with a black iris, and at the tips of the ears, elongated hair is collected in characteristic tufts that form tassels.

Photo of a squirrel on a Christmas tree.
Photo of a squirrel in the park.

In winter, squirrel coats are soft and fluffy, while summer fur is rough, short and sparse. Even within the same species, the color of squirrels is extremely variable: winter fur is distinguished by dull gray, brownish and black tones, in summer squirrels are more brightly colored with a predominance of red and dark brown colors. Sometimes there are absolutely black specimens and vice versa, squirrels are albinos, and there are variegated and spotted individuals. Shedding takes place 2 times a year, only the tail sheds only once per season.

Range and lifestyle

Proteins are distributed almost throughout Europe, on both American continents and in Asian countries located in the temperate climate zone.

Typical habitats of squirrels are coniferous, deciduous and mixed forests, as well as city parks, where the animals are provided with their main food source - tree seeds and nuts. Squirrels spend most of their lives in trees, and are most active at dusk and dawn. During the breeding season and in the warm season, they can be seen on the ground, where the animals move in characteristic jumps, up to 1 m long.

Proteins living in deciduous forests, equip shelters in hollows of trees, where dry leaves, grass and lichens are dragged, and the inhabitants of conifers build nests from dry twigs right in the forks of branches. Squirrels often use birdhouses as a shelter, while males do not engage in construction, but settle in empty nests of birds. One squirrel can have up to 15 nests at the same time, which the animal periodically changes. In winter, squirrels leave their shelters only in case of severe hunger, and in severe frosts and prolonged bad weather they remain in the nest, falling into half-asleep.

Squirrel on a pine branch.
Squirrel on a tree.

In drought or lean years, squirrels make migrations in search of food over a distance of up to 300 km, during which many animals die from hunger and predators.

Nutrition Features

The basis of the squirrel diet is conifer seeds, acorns and hazelnuts. Secondarily, berries and mushrooms are used, with preference given to deer truffle, as well as rhizomes, shoots, leaves and buds of plants. AT mating season animal food appears in the protein diet: various insects and their larvae, as well as eggs and chicks. AT winter time squirrel eats about 35 g of feed per day, during the breeding season - about 80 g.

Photo of a squirrel in the forest.
The squirrel eats a bump.

The lower jaw of the squirrel is bifurcated and connected by an elastic muscle, thanks to which the animals easily crack nuts, spreading strong incisors to the side and inserting them into the hole in the shell like a wedge.

The squirrel eats pine nuts.

Highly in an interesting way squirrels store food for the winter: they hang mushrooms on branches, and they bury acorns, cones and nuts in hollows, but almost immediately forget about their reserves and stumble upon them by accident in winter.

Photo of a squirrel in the branches.
Squirrel "reads" a book.

Squirrels living in the city consider a person as a source of food, so they easily get used to hand-feeding.

reproduction

Throughout the range, the rut in squirrels occurs from January to the end of summer, females northern populations bring offspring 1 - 2 times a year, residents of the south - 3 times. During the mating season, the female is accompanied by up to 6 males, who run after each other, purr loudly and tap their paws on the branches of trees.

The squirrel eats from the hand.
Grown up squirrels in a hollow.

The female mates with the winner, and then begins building a brood nest. The squirrel carries offspring for 35 - 38 days, and usually from 3 to 10 squirrels are born, weighing about 8 g. After 2 weeks, the cubs are covered with hair, and open their eyes only after a month. Milk feeding lasts up to 50 days, at the age of 2 - 2.5 months the squirrels leave the nest, and at 9 - 12 months they become sexually mature.

The squirrel catches a peanut.
The common squirrel lives on Far East, differs in appearance from its European counterparts. In summer it is black, in winter it is silver.
The squirrel deftly moves along the iron grid.

AT wild nature rare squirrels live up to 4 years, and the mortality rate of young animals reaches 85%. Owls, hawks, martens and foxes prey on animals, in the off-season many squirrels die from various infections, and in winter from hunger. Nevertheless, squirrels are quite numerous in most of the range and the state of their population does not cause concern. In captivity, good care, squirrels live for about 12 years.

This funny animal often pleases us with its appearance in city parks or forests. Sometimes the behavior of a squirrel seems funny and funny, especially "begging" for something tasty, and sometimes a little brazen. Well, that's her nature.

The squirrel is one of the most common members of the squirrel family. Even in ancient times, it was the main object of the fur trade, of course, after the arctic fox. And her skins served as the main bargaining chip - white. From here it went modern name this animal.

The common squirrel has about 40 subspecies, the main difference between which is the color. This furry animal lives on a vast territory stretching from the coast Atlantic Ocean to Kamchatka, Sakhalin Island and Japanese island Hokkaido. You can meet him in any mixed forests.

The habitat of the common squirrel

Squirrel life is fraught with a lot interesting facts which we are not even aware of. And here are some of them.

1. Squirrel fur

For us, the image of a red squirrel is most familiar. But this is not all of its color options. The coloring depends on the season. In summer they are mostly red or brown, and in winter they are gray or dark brown. But the abdomen, regardless of the season, remains light.

But among them there are also pure black, piebald (with light spots) and even albino squirrels. One regularity is observed in their coloration - the closer to the center of their habitat, the lighter the coat.

The squirrel changes its coat twice a year. First in spring - in April-May, and then in autumn - from September to November. The spring molt begins with the head and body, and the autumn molt begins with the tail. How quickly it will pass, and how beautiful the new coat will turn out, will depend on the amount of food supplies and weather conditions.

black squirrel

2. Lifestyle

Alfred Bram nicknamed the squirrel the "Northern Monkey" for its agility and dexterity. She jumps from tree to tree with ease. A distance of 3-4 meters for her is not a serious obstacle. On the ground, they move in small jumps. If the squirrel senses danger, it immediately climbs the nearest tree.

Movement on the ground
During the jump

3. Squirrel nests

The squirrel and the forest are two inseparable things. Most She spends her life on trees, with the exception of the migration period and during the breeding season. Here the animal equips spherical nests from twigs, which are called Gaina. Or, thanks to its combative and cocky character, it wins back some hollow or nest, or occupies an empty one.

Squirrel's nest - gayna

From the inside, the nest is insulated with leaves, moss, dry grass or tree lichen. If necessary, where it is necessary to correct, patch up and build on the roof. In winter, from 3 to 6 squirrels can sleep in one nest, warming each other and plugging the entrance with moss. Therefore, during winter frosts the temperature in the nest reaches 15-20 degrees. In a strong cold, squirrels do not crawl out of their “bedroom”.

in the hollow
Female with a squirrel

The squirrel's nest has 2 exits: the main and the spare, which is directed towards the trunk, so that in case of danger you can quickly slip out and run away from the enemy.

3. Migration of proteins

At the end of summer - beginning of autumn, squirrels begin a period of migration. At this time, squirrels do not form large clusters, but travel alone. The most common cause of this phenomenon is the lack of food, Forest fires or drought.

Proteins can migrate both for short (until the nearest woodland), and over long distances (up to 100-300 km). At this time, the animals are ready for anything, even to swim across small rivers and bays. Sometimes their path goes through settlements. Unfortunately, a lot of animals during migrations die from hunger, cold, predator attacks, or simply drown.

4. Subsistence

Seeds are the main food for squirrels. coniferous trees: pine, larch, spruce, fir and others. Their protein bumps are gutted professionally. In 3 minutes, it will leave only a pile of scales from a small pine cone. At this rate, in a day, 1 small squirrel can empty 15 spruce and about 100 pine cones.

Gnawed cone

In addition to them, the squirrel enjoys eating hazelnuts, acorns, berries, shoots and buds of trees, mushrooms, rhizomes, tubers, and lichens. In times of famine or during breeding periods, it does not disdain insects and their larvae, as well as chicks, eggs and small vertebrates. In general, squirrels are omnivores.

5. Stocks

They store small surpluses of food in reserve for the winter. Squirrels build warehouses in hollows or bury food in the ground between the roots, after which they calmly forget about it and can no longer remember. Such is the peculiarity of their memory. She finds them by accident, which makes her very happy.

Short squirrel memory is happily used by other animals - birds and small rodents, and the squirrel itself sometimes eats stocks of mice and chipmunks, which it easily finds even under a thick layer of snow.

6. Reproduction

During the breeding season, males become quite aggressive towards each other and often fight. Up to 6 males can run after one female at the same time.

After mating, the squirrel goes to build a brood nest. In one litter there are from 3 to 10 cubs, of which only 1-4 survive. They are born weighing only 8 grams, completely naked and blind. After 2 weeks, they begin to become covered with wool, after 1 month they begin to see clearly and are already getting out of the nest. Up to 1.5 months, the mother feeds them with milk. After 8-10 weeks they already leave parental home. The interval between broods is about 13 weeks.

Two week old baby squirrel

7. Enemies of the squirrel

AT natural environment habitats, squirrels live no more than 4 years, while in zoos they live up to 10-12 years. What is the reason for such a large age difference? Firstly, in the forest expanses there are many wild animals that will gladly feast on these beautiful creatures.

Most dangerous enemy for squirrels is pine marten, and not an owl or an owl at all. You can still run away from the bird if you notice its approach in time. Moreover, the rescue tactics are quite unusual: in the event of an attack, the squirrel begins to run down the tree in a spiral, periodically hiding from the eyes of the bird behind the trunk. As a result, the eagle owl must fly around the tree, thereby losing precious time.

Images of squirrels can be seen both on the emblems of Zelenograd, Yakutsk and the German city of Eckernförde, as well as on the Belarusian currency - a 1992 bill of 50 kopecks. I will not say anything about the numerous stamps with her image.

Common squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) in recent times is increasingly found in city parks, gardens, suburban forest belts, that is, not far from human dwellings, and therefore refers to synanthropic animals, that is, human companions. The common squirrel belongs to the most beautiful, graceful animals of the fauna of Ukraine. Her head is small, rounded, with a wide forehead, her ears are rather large, erect, with tassels of long hairs, especially expressive in winter. The body is elongated, over 20 cm long, flexible. The hind legs are well developed. The tail is fluffy, densely covered with hairs. The length of the tail is almost equal to the length of the body, the paws are tenacious, with sharp curved claws on the fingers.

Among all forest animals, the common squirrel is best adapted to life in trees. She is good at climbing tree trunks and can make long, long jumps. Quite often, in search of food, the common squirrel descends to the surface of the soil, but here it is not so agile and, with the least danger, climbs a tree.

Habitats of the common squirrel

The color of the squirrel's fur is changeable and depends on the habitat on the territory of Ukraine and especially on the season of the year. Top part the body is intensively red-chestnut in summer, with different reddish hues, in winter it is smoky brownish or gray. The color of Carpathian squirrels is dark brown, almost black. On the territory of Ukraine, the common squirrel is common in old tall-leaved and coniferous forests Polissya, forest-steppe zone and mountainous regions of the Carpathians up to the subalpine strip. The common squirrel is absent only in the mountain forests of the Crimea.

Nutrition of the common squirrel

Squirrels feed on a wide variety of foods: hazelnuts, seeds of conifers, green bark and buds from shoots of broad-leaved trees, insects, bird eggs and even chicks. A significant place in the nutrition of squirrels in summer is occupied by berries and mushrooms. An interesting thing about the diet of the common squirrel is that it is very diligent
stores food for the winter - acorns, nuts, mushrooms, which he hides in hollows, under fallen leaves or "preserves" - hangs on the knots of trees. Sometimes in protein stocks there are up to three or more kilograms of selected nuts.

The common squirrel is a diurnal animal. She is especially active in the morning. The presence of a squirrel can be easily recognized by the bites that it leaves in places of food. In winter, you can see the characteristic traces of squirrels in the snow. The common squirrel leaves prints of all four legs: longer in front, with close heels - prints of the hind legs, behind shorter - with close fingers - prints of the front legs. The direction of travel is determined by the position of the hind legs. During a fast run, the tracks lag behind each other much more.

Reproduction of common squirrels

Squirrels usually arrange their nest in a tree hollow, lining it with dry grass, leaves, and moss. Where there are no hollows suitable for nests, they, skillfully intertwining dry twigs, moss, build a spherical nest with a round inlet, which is hung between dense branches in the tops of low trees. Inside it is lined with dry grass stalks, feathers. In such a nest twice a year: the first time - in April, the second - at the end of July or August, after a 35-day pregnancy, the females give birth to babies. In each offspring of an ordinary squirrel, there are four to five
cubs. During the first days after birth, they are blind, naked and very helpless. They begin to see clearly only at the age of five weeks, after which they grow rapidly, and after another two weeks they try to get food on their own. They leave the nest at the age of two months, but after that they continue to feed on their mother's milk for some time. Adults become in the fifth month of life. AT hibernation ordinary squirrels do not lie down, but in very coldy and blizzards sleep for several days without leaving their warm nest.

In the north of Russia, the common squirrel has great importance as a game animal. In terms of the number of industrial fur, they occupy one of the first places here. In Ukraine, due to a sharp decrease in old hollow trees, the number of squirrels has recently noticeably decreased, therefore, as a wonderful decoration of forests, parks and gardens, they are taken under protection.

On the video you can see how the common squirrel gnaws mushrooms in the autumn forest.

Fact one. The secret of agility is in her wonderful tail

The squirrel uses its tail as a steering wheel: thanks to it, it can jump from tree to tree 15 meters in a curve and 4 meters in a straight line. At the same time, on the ground, the squirrel does not jump so far: only 1 meter in length.

The tail of the animal plays the role of a parachute: even when falling from a 30-meter height, the squirrel will remain alive and unharmed.

In addition to helping in movement, the tail also plays another role. important role in the life of an animal. A male squirrel will prefer a female with a fuller tail. The tail also serves as a warm cozy blanket that you can hide on cold nights. True, this limb can cause the death of the animal: despite the fact that squirrels are excellent swimmers, a wet tail can drag the poor fellow to the bottom like an anchor.

Source: http://vse-krugom.ru

Fact two. The squirrel must gnaw all the time

The squirrel has four front teeth, and they are constantly growing. If the teeth are too long, the squirrel will not be able to cope with nuts and cones and will die of hunger. Therefore, the animal constantly gnaws, grinding off the extra length of the teeth and sharpening them.

Photo source: http://life.pravda.com.ua

Fact three. Squirrel owns a special technology for cracking nuts

The squirrel cracks nuts in an unusual way: from the side where it has a sharp tip, it gnaws a small hole and sticks two lower incisors there. The lower jaw of the squirrel consists of two parts, between which there is an elastic and very strong muscle. When the squirrel pulls the two parts together, the incisors diverge and the nut cracks.

The animal copes with the cones just as quickly and skillfully: it extracts the seeds, touching the scale with its teeth, it bites it off, and the seed slips out. For one pine cone takes three minutes. During the day, the squirrel can get seeds from 15 spruce and about 100 pine cones.

Source: http://en.gde-fon.com

Fact four. Cunning squirrels know how to steal

The squirrel is not only smart, but also a cunning animal. In search of food, she adapted to life next to a person: squirrels find something nutritious for themselves in bird feeders, they know how to ask for tasty treats from passers-by, they tear out plants planted by people in search of seeds. Nut lovers can sometimes pull something tasty from the field or garden, which they learn from each other. Sometimes, in order to go "on business", they specially gather in groups of two to five animals, and assign roles. The task of some is to distract attention, while others, messengers, take away the watched prey.

Source: http://kotelna.org.ua

Fifth fact. Squirrel is the champion in diet diversity

Squirrels are omnivorous, their diet includes about 150 seeds different trees. Its main part is the seeds of conifers: spruce, pine, cedar, fir, larch. In oak forests, squirrels will not disappear either - they will eat acorns and hazelnuts. The protein menu also includes mushrooms, berries, herbs, mosses, lichens, tubers and rhizomes. If the nut harvest was not good enough, squirrels feed on buds and young shoots of trees.

Squirrels can be predators. In addition to plant foods, they also like to eat insects, eggs, and even small birds, mammals, and frogs.

The animal loves to eat: in a week, a squirrel eats an amount of food equal to its weight.

Source: http://topilche.te.ua

Fact six. The name of the animal comes from the word "white"

The etymology of the word protein is interesting. It comes from the common Slavic "bel", which means white. In the old days, the word "white" meant not only color, but also " ghostly, invisible". Because of the speed of the squirrel, they could be called ghostly.

In ancient times, this animal was called "vveritsa". In autumn, squirrels molt and their fur becomes whitish. It was these squirrels that were called "b'la vveritsa." They hunted precisely these animals, with light fur. The name was mentioned often, and over time it was reduced to "b'la", later the suffix -k- was added.

There is also an assumption that in the old days there was a special breed of squirrels with white fur. Hence the name of the animal.

Source: http://kotelna.org.ua

Fact seven. Squirrel Forgetfulness Benefits the Forest

Like many rodents, the squirrel makes stocks for the winter - they hide nuts, acorns, cones and mushrooms in the hollows of trees, and some species bury them in the ground. But often the animal forgets where he hid his food. In this case, the poor memory of the squirrels is good for the forest - the nuts forgotten in the ground sprout and replenish the forest with new trees.

A forgotten supply of protein can be about three kilograms of selected feed. Birds, small rodents and even a brown bear take advantage of the forgetfulness of the jumper and are often fed from squirrel "closets". However, the squirrel itself often eats up stocks of mice, chipmunks and other rodents, digging them out even under a one and a half meter layer of snow.

Source: http://probilo4ok.wordpress.com

Fact eight. Squirrels build 15 nests at once

A squirrel's nest is called "gaino", and one animal usually starts many, up to 15 such dwellings. Most often, the nest is built in a hollow tree or in a birdhouse, lining everything inside with dry leaves, stems, moss, feathers. If there is no suitable hollow or birdhouse, the animals build their dwelling between the branches of a tree, at a height of 7-12 meters.

Squirrel is one of the most popular hunting objects. Especially considering the fact that the world is inhabited by a number of varieties of these fur-bearing animals, which have been learned to be hunted everywhere. However, every hunter will say that a good knowledge of the habits of these animals is necessary for the success of his event.

Squirrel is a small animal of the class of mammals, a rodent. The common squirrel is also called veksha. In addition to it, there are other types of squirrels, for example, red, palm, flying squirrel.

On the territory of the European, Asian part of the world, including in our country, they hunt most often for common squirrel, so we'll talk about it.

Appearance

Feature of the animal big tail, which can be even longer than the body of the squirrel itself. In general, the body length is 20-30 cm, the weight of the animal is an average of 300 grams. The hind legs are noticeably shorter than the front.

The muzzle is extended forward, black shiny eyes. Squirrels are known for tassels on rather large erect ears.

In winter, the squirrel has fluffy thick fur of a grayish color. In warm weather, the animal is covered with sparse and coarse hair of dark brown, orange, yellowish, red colors. The belly is usually lighter. Differences in the color of the main fur are associated with the habitats of the squirrels. Twice a year, in spring and autumn, the squirrel molts. The tail is shed only once a year.

The animal has good claws and strong teeth, which help in the extraction and chewing of food.

Where do squirrels live

The most suitable place for a squirrel to live is a forest, especially a deaf one, with tall trees, with hollows. What squirrels don't like is bright, straight sunlight and at the same time dampness. Therefore, they choose places where there is neither one nor the other. If there is a forest, then most likely there will be squirrels there, unless it is Australia. And so squirrels live throughout Europe, most of Asia: in Siberia, Altai and the Urals.

Squirrels like to build their nest in hollows of trees, but if the animal is not lucky enough to find such a place, it builds a nest open type. Usually in a fork between branches. The nest looks like a bird's nest, only covered with a flat roof from above to shelter the animals from snow and rain.

Hunters should be aware that the exit from the lair usually faces east and is slightly off center. However, near the trunk, the squirrel also makes an emergency move, suddenly an enemy tries to climb into the main hole. The bottom of the nest is often bonded with earth, clay - this is an inheritance from crows, whose nests squirrels often take as a basis. Inside, everything is lined with moss, it turns out soft and dry.

Squirrels eat mostly plant food. They eat:

• tree buds;
• shoots;
• mushrooms - fresh and dried;
• berries;
• fruits;
• seeds;
• nuts;
• acorns;
• grains;
• bark.

A favorite food is the seeds of coniferous trees, which squirrels skillfully extract from cones. They will not refuse the eggs of a bird, and if there are chicks in the nest, they will also go to food. In the spring, when the seeds germinate, there is not enough food for the squirrels and they can eat insects, frogs, and small birds.

Interestingly, proteins cannot digest fiber. In general, their diet is quite rich in fats, proteins and carbohydrates.

Lot interesting habits protein is associated with nutrition. Since childhood, we have all heard that animals can make stocks of mushrooms and nuts. And indeed it is. Squirrel mushrooms eat both fresh and dried. He drags off excess mushrooms, clings to branches in the hope of using them later. In addition, they are especially active in hiding various nuts, as well as fruits and seeds. On the ground, in hollows, stumps, between stones, old nests and various other secluded places. Moreover, it cannot be said that the squirrel has a directly human memory. Rather, it is an instinct to hide and seek. Therefore, she does not find everything that she hid, and she can also find and use the supplies of her neighbors.

Another sign associated with the nutrition of squirrels: in winter they look for food on trees, get cones, peel and get seeds. Broken branches, parts of cones on the snow - evidence that the squirrel made its way along the top. And perhaps somewhere here and is. In the spring, squirrels have to go down in search of food. With a lack of food, animals can roam from place to place, sometimes their transitions exceed 300 km, but in favorable conditions they live settled. During migrations, they move not en masse, but one by one, but in a wide line.

In the warm season, in the morning, the squirrel leaves its shelter and goes to feed. Moreover, it is known that a strong wind awakens the animals earlier, at dawn. And in calm weather, squirrels can sleep longer. This information will also help hunters.

Squirrels quickly get used to taking food from a person and cease to be afraid of him.

Squirrel habits

By nature, squirrels, despite their cute appearance, are moderately aggressive and suspicious animals. However, they are quite smart and cunning.

A hunter who is learning to read the tracks of animals needs to know about squirrels that squirrels follow old tracks, forming real paths. The path leads from the tree where the animal left the lair to the feeding grounds. The further the winter, the longer the transitions of squirrels in search of food. It is noteworthy that a hungry squirrel, going in the morning for fattening, makes long jumps, placing its hind legs side by side. A narrow trail is formed. The squirrel that has eaten is heavier, lazier, does not jump so far, and puts its paws farther apart. So in the footsteps you can understand where the squirrel went - to feed or to rest.

In general, squirrels have many interesting habits. For example:

• After the morning feeding, the animals return to their shelters and sleep, hiding from sun rays. They are good swimmers but will do their best to stay out of the water because they don't like dampness. It is hardly possible to see a squirrel voluntarily caught in the rain. In addition, they are afraid strong wind and especially snowstorms;

• In case of a possible danger, the squirrel stands on its hind legs, looking around the surroundings in order to detect the enemy. In parallel, she can make shrill sounds to warn her comrades;

• It is not for nothing that the squirrel prefers nuts to other foods. They have quite a lot nutrients, a anatomical structure jaws contributes to the extraction of nucleoli. The lower jaw of the animal is divided into two parts, between which there is elastic muscle. The squirrel pierces the place where the nut is attached to the branch with its lower incisors and brings the parts of the jaw together, causing the teeth to diverge and, like a wedge, divide the shell into two parts.

reproduction

The female usually brings cubs twice a year. The first mating season occurs in February-March, the second occurs in the summer. At this time, up to a dozen males gather around the squirrels, who sort things out with the help of teeth and claws. After mating, the babies appear a little later than a month later.

Males do not take care of offspring, and females are very caring mothers. They can bring from two to twelve babies. Baby squirrels are born blind and naked. If the mother leaves the nest, she covers the children with moss.

After about two weeks, the hair grows, later the eyes open, the teeth grow. The babies begin to look out of the nest, they are very curious and may suffer because of this - fall out of the den, become prey to predators. Grown up squirrels themselves often get out of the nest down the trunk, making sounds like a clatter. At forty days, the young can already look for food on their own, moving from mother's milk to the usual diet for an adult squirrel.

When the second, summer brood grows up, the parents unite the whole family and settle in one part of the forest. Puberty of young animals occurs at 5 months. In captivity, a squirrel can live up to 15 years, but in natural conditions this figure is less.

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