Welcome to Squirrel Facts
Let me tell you all about how amazing squirrels are. Squirrels come from the
rodent family. They are cute little critters! Did you know that there are more
than 200 different species of squirrels that live all over the world? Did you
know that chipmunks, groundhog, and prairie dogs are in the squirrel family?
Squirrels have four front teeth that never stop growing. There are two on the
top and two on the bottom called incisors. They have around 20 teeth
altogether. In order for squirrels to keep their four incisors from growing too
long they have to constantly chew/gnaw on stuff.
What is your favorite type of squirrel?
Facts about squirrels:
1. Some squirrels live on the ground and some live in trees.
The ground squirrels dig burrows under the ground to live in. Tree squirrels
build nests in trees.
2. Squirrels are omnivores. They eat various plants, seeds,
nuts, fruits, fungi, small insects, and other meat. Squirrels hide food for the
winter, and they are capable of smelling the food that is buried under the snow
as long as the snow isn’t more than a foot deep. How cool is that?
3. One of the largest squirrels in the world is the Indian
Giant squirrel. It can grow to be around 36 inches from head to tail. It can
weigh as much as four and a half (4½) pounds;
sometimes more.
4. One of the smallest squirrels in the world is the least
pygmy squirrel. It can grow to around five and a half inches (5½) long. It weighs
about 0.60 oz. That is less than an ounce! It is very tiny like a mouse!
5. There are about 50 (fifty) species of flying squirrels.
Even though they are called flying squirrels they cannot fly. They are only
capable of gliding. They can glide anywhere from 100 feet up to 300 feet or more.
6. A group of squirrels are called a scurry or a dray. A
female squirrel can give birth to 2 to 4 baby squirrels at a time, sometimes
more. The mother squirrel will keep the baby squirrels safe for about 10 weeks.
The baby squirrels will leave the nest when they are about 12 weeks old.
7. Squirrels are very intelligent critters. They can trick
other animals into thinking they buried/stored food in a spot that they really
did not. Squirrels zig zag to trick their predators into thinking they are going
in a different direction.
Share a fact about squirrels with us?
Get a printable squirrel coloring sheet here:
Books about squirrels:
1. All About Squirrels: by L.E. Arning
2. Scrappy the Squirrel Meets Troubles by Amy Shook
3. Busy Little Squirrel by Nancy Tafuri
4. A Squirrel's Tale by Richard Fowler
Parents/caretakers be sure books are child friendly before
reading them to your child/children.
Thank you for reading my post!! "Don't have a good day; have a GREAT
day!" -Free Guy the movie.
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