Squirrel

Lore & Background

The word 'squirrel' first appeared in 1327, derived from Anglo-Norman and Old French, ultimately from the Ancient Greek σκίουρος (skiouros), meaning 'shade-tail,' referring to their long bushy tail. The Old English word ācweorna was later replaced. A group of squirrels is called a 'dray' or a 'scurry.' Squirrels have slender bodies, large eyes, soft fur, and hind limbs typically longer than forelimbs. Tree squirrels can descend trees headfirst by rotating their ankles 180 degrees.

Reader's Guide

Squirrels are significant as widespread rodents that inhabit nearly every habitat except high polar regions and the driest deserts. They are primarily herbivorous but may eat insects and small vertebrates. Their caching behavior, including hanging nuts on branches in subtropical zones, influences forest ecology by aiding tree dispersal. Squirrels are synanthropes, thriving in human environments through a process called synurbanization, where they lose fear of humans.

Their tails serve multiple functions: insulation, cooling, balance, parachuting, signaling, and providing fine hair for fishing flies. Despite high juvenile mortality, adult squirrels can live 5 to 10 years in the wild. Their behavioral plasticity allows rapid adaptation to urban settings, though competition for food can escalate during harsh winters.

Did You Know?

• Squirrels are most closely related to the mountain beaver and dormice among living rodent families.
• Some flying squirrels carve grooves into nuts to fix them tightly between twigs, akin to a mortise-tenon joint.