Asa here. While Chuck Billy bemoans the fact social distancing is preventing us from seeing people, you know who we’ve been seeing a lot of lately? Squirrels! So today I’d like to share with you some fun facts about our nutty neighbors.
The name squirrel has its origins in Greek, who called the animal skiouros, which translates to “shadow tail.” Some theorize this was due to the squirrel’s habit of sitting with its tail over its head as shade. The Romans turned this into the Latin word sciurus, which made its way into early French as esquirel. The English borrowed squirrel from the French, and they have been living in the shadow of their tail ever since.
There are approximately 280 different species of squirrels, and they can be found in every corner of the world except Antartica and Australia. Although they did try to introduce Gray Squirrels in Australia, they eventually went extinct due to predators. Squirrels are also categorized into the three types: tree squirrels, ground squirrels and flying squirrels. Spoiler alert: Flying squirrels don’t actually fly. They use the flap of skin between their arms and legs like a parachute to glide.
Squirrels may not be able to fly, but they do have amazing super powers! Their long, muscular hind legs and short front legs work together to aid in leaping. In fact, they can leap 10 times their body length up to 20 feet! On the off chance their leap doesn’t go quite as planned, squirrels can fall approximately 90 feet without getting hurt, just by using their tail as a parachute! Not only that, the hind legs of squirrels are double-jointed, which gives them the ability to run up and down trees very quickly. Their ankles are also amazing in that they can turn 180 degrees to aid in those quick changes in directions while climbing.
Speaking of quick changes in directions, ever notice how when we chase them squirrels always run in a zigzag pattern? They’re not just haphazardly trying to escape us, that is a proven way avoid predators. But even without the zigzag, some squirrels have been clocked at running at speeds of 20 mph! Adding to their super powers, Did you know they can see us coming because their eyes are positioned in a way which allows them to see behind them? No wonder try as we might, most dogs can’t sneak up on them!
We may not have the same athletic abilities, but dogs and squirrels do share something in common. We’re both not picky eaters. Squirrels have been known to feast on native fruits, flowers, veggies, fungi, trees, plants, insects and nuts. It’s no secret though nuts are their favorite. Squirrels can recognize ripe nuts using their sense of smell. However unlike dogs, squirrels understand the importance of saving food for another day. According to a study by behavioral biologists at the University of California, squirrels will cache anywhere from 3,000 to 10,000 nuts each year! Although their approach to food storage may appear illogical, biologists found that they categorize their food by source, variety, quality and preference, so they can keep track of their inventory.
However, just like dogs need to protect their food, squirrels are aware that food thieves are everywhere. So they have been known to practice “deceptive caching.” This is when they pretend to dig a hole for a nut, but in reality they hold onto it and hide it elsewhere to throw predators and even fellow Squirrels off their track. However, despite their great memory and sense of smell, some nuts do get lost. A study done at the University of Richmond cites that squirrels fail to recover up to 74% of the nuts they bury. This results in them being accidental environmentalists by helping more trees to grow.
I’m not sure why Chuck Billy is always barking at our nutty neighbors. Squirrels are really quite fascinating creatures that we sure could learn a lot from by observing their daily routine.
