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Squirrels are rodents in the Sciuridae family.
Animals in the Sciuridae family include squirrels, chipmunks, woodchucks and prairie dogs.
There are around 280 species of squirrel.
Squirrels live in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa.
The most common squirrel in America is the gray squirrel.
The word squirrel comes from the Greek word Skiouros meaning “shadow tail.”
Squirrels are mammals.
Squirrels are omnivores. Omnivores are animals that eat both plants and meat.
Squirrels like to eat nuts, fruits, seeds, tree bark, roots, insects and caterpillars. Sometimes they will eat baby birds.
A squirrel’s four front teeth never stop growing.
Their teeth get worn down when they chomp on nuts and tree bark.
Squirrels have bushy tails and pointed ears.
Squirrels have excellent eyesight.
Their hind legs are double-jointed. That helps them run up and down trees.
Squirrels have five toes on their back feet and four toes on their front feet.
Their front toes are very sharp. They use their front toes to grip the tree trunk.
Squirrels build nests called drey.
Squirrels like to build nests in holes of tree trunks.
Some squirrels can run up to 20 miles per hr.
Squirrels can jump 20ft.
Squirrels communicate with each other by making chirping sounds and by tail movements.
Flying Squirrels don’t actually fly. They extend their arms and legs and leap and glide from tree to tree.
Flying Squirrels can leap up to 150 ft.
Flying Squirrels are nocturnal. Nocturnal means active at night.
The smallest squirrel is the African Pygmy Squirrel.
African Pygmy Squirrels are only 5 inches long and weight .5 – 1 ounce!
Baby squirrels are called kittens.
Kittens are born blind.
Kittens drink milk from their mother 3 months.
When squirrels are frightened they run back and forth and in different directions for confuse their predators.
Squirrels predators are hawks, owls, fox, raccoons and snakes.
