Joey Saves The Day!: Facts about squirrels

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 more than 200 different species of squirrels live all over the world? Did you know chipmunks, groundhogs, and prairie dogs are part of the squirrel family?

Squirrels have four front teeth that never stop growing. Two are on the top and two on the bottom, called incisors. They have around 20 teeth altogether. To keep their four incisors from growing too long, squirrels 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. Ground squirrels dig burrows under the ground to live in, while 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 can smell the food 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 is 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 keeps the baby squirrels safe for about 10 weeks. The baby squirrels 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 or stored food in a spot they did not.

8. Squirrels zig-zag to fool their predators into thinking they are going in a different direction.

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Get a printable squirrel coloring sheet here:

Squirrel coloring sheet