Squirrel
Squirrels are small, very fast and agile animals that live in almost every forest in the world. Their tail is like a big fluffy brush, which they use for balance when jumping from tree to tree.
They can come in many different colours, but the most famous ones have a soft and fluffy brownish-red coat. In summer, the squirrel turns red and in winter its coat turns grey. In addition, squirrels have small fluffy tassels on their ears in winter.
What squirrels eat and where they live
Squirrels wake up early in the morning when most of us are still asleep. They use their sharp teeth to chew on nuts and seeds. Squirrels love a variety of foods: they eat conifer seeds, mushrooms, berries, fruit, young tree branches, nuts and even insects! Sometimes squirrels can eat birds' eggs if they are very hungry. They look for food both in trees and on the ground.
Squirrels are very clever and hoarding: they gather food in summer and autumn, when it is abundant, and hide it in safe places. This is how they store food for the winter, when it becomes harder to find something tasty.
If squirrels live in a forest where there are many coniferous trees, they eat their seeds. If they live where there are many oaks and other trees, their main food is nuts and acorns. In lean years, squirrels eat the buds of spruce trees.
Squirrels have very sharp claws that they use to climb trees. They are great climbers and can jump from branch to branch! Squirrels usually make their homes, or "nests", out of leaves and branches in trees. There they sleep, hide from predators, and care for their baby squirrels.
Squirrels are usually very combative and cautious. They run and hide if someone comes close. But if you sit quietly and wait, you might see a squirrel come out of its hiding place again and start looking for food. It's a lot of fun to watch squirrels!
How squirrels become mums and dads
Squirrels, just like humans, take care of their babies. They meet other squirrels, fall in love and form a family. Squirrel pregnancies usually last about a month and during this time, the mum squirrel will eat more nuts and seeds to grow older and be ready to bring her cubs into the world.
A squirrel can become a mum twice a year and give birth to between 3 and 10 baby squirrels. When the time comes, the mum squirrel gives birth to the cubs, which are initially very small and blind. The baby squirrels grow up in a nest that the mama squirrel builds in trees to keep them safe from predators.
When the baby squirrels grow up, the mama squirrel teaches them the most important squirrel skills: jumping on branches, looking for food, and hiding from danger. This is called nurturing, and all mums in the world, whether human or squirrel, take care of their babies and help them grow up healthy and happy.
By the next spring, these baby squirrels are big and start their independent life.
