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Table of Contents
Familiar to almost everyone, squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, which includes small or medium-sized rodents. Consisting of over 200 squirrel species worldwide, squirrels play a significant role in forest regeneration, food chains, and keeping insects under control.
See the fact file below for more information on the squirrels or alternatively, you can download our 22-page Squirrel worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.
Key Facts & Information
ETYMOLOGY AND TAXONOMY
- The word “squirrel”, first used in 1327, originates from the Anglo-Norman esquirel, which comes from the Old French escurel, the reflex of a Latin word sciurus, which has roots from the Ancient Greek word skiouros, meaning “shadow-tailed”, referring to the squirrel’s long, bushy tail.
- Extant squirrels are divided into five subfamilies, having 58 genera and 286 species. The oldest squirrel fossil, Hesperopetes, was traced back to the Chadronian era and resembles the modern flying squirrels. The five subfamilies include Ratufinae, Sciurillinae, Sciurinae, Callosciurinae, and Xerinae.
- The three main lineages of squirrels include the Ratufinae (Oriental giant squirrels) of tropical Asia, Sciurillinae of tropical South America, and all other subfamilies that have a near-cosmopolitan distribution.
CHARACTERISTICS
- Squirrels are relatively small, ranging in size from the African pygmy squirrel and least pygmy squirrel, at 3.9 to 5.5 inches in length, to the Bhutan giant flying squirrel, at 4 feet 2 inches in total length.
- They typically sport slender bodies with bushy tails and huge eyes. Their fur is soft and silky, though there are some with thicker fur. Their coat color varies between and within species.
- Most species have longer hind limbs than the fore limbs, while all species possess either four or five toes on each paw. Their paws sometimes have a poorly-developed thumb, with soft pads on the undersides and flexible, sturdy claws used for holding and climbing.
- Tree squirrels, compared to other mammals, can move or fall down a tree head-first. They do so by rotating their ankles 180 degrees, allowing their hind paws to stretch backward and thus grasp the tree bark from the opposite direction.
- They live in almost every habitat, ranging from tropical rainforest to semiarid desert, staying away from the high polar regions and the driest of deserts.
- They are mainly herbivores, feeding on seeds and nuts, but will also prey on insects and even small vertebrates.
- Given their large eyes, squirrels have an outstanding sense of vision, which is an essential feature for the tree-dwelling species. Majority also have a good sense of touch, with vibrissae hair on their limbs and on their heads.
- The teeth of squirrels follow the usual rodent pattern, having large incisors for gnawing and cheek teeth for grinding and are set back behind a wide gap known as diastema.
- Most juvenile squirrels do not survive the first year of life. Adult squirrels can live five to 10 years in the wild, and some squirrels in captivity can even survive 10 to 20 years.
- A squirrel’s tail brings certain benefits, such as: (1) keeping rain or wind or cold off, (2) cooling off when hot by giving off blood through its tail, (3) using as a counterbalance when moving from one tree to another, and (4) acting as a parachute when jumping.
BEHAVIOR
- Squirrels mate once or twice annually, followed by a gestation period of three to six weeks. They give birth to a number of babies that differ according to species.
- Offsprings are altricial or underdeveloped, being born naked, toothless, and blind. In a number of species, female squirrels tend to watch after the young, which are weaned at six to ten weeks and reach sexual maturity at the end of their first year.
- Generally, ground-dwelling squirrels are social, often living in full-fledged groups, while tree-dwelling species are rather solitary.
- Ground and tree squirrels are either diurnal or crepuscular. Flying squirrels, on the other hand, are usually nocturnal, except for those lactating mothers and their young, which tend to be more active during the day in the summer.
- Since squirrels cannot take in cellulose, they depend on food rich in protein, carbohydrates, and fats. In temperate zones, early spring is the most difficult time of the year for these animals because the nuts they buried are starting to sprout, making them unavailable to eat. During these trying times, squirrels rely heavily on the buds of trees.
- Being herbivores, they feed on a wide variety of plants, nuts, seeds, conifer cones, fruits, fungi, and green vegetation. There are also some squirrel species that eat meat, especially when faced with hunger. They are also known to prey on small birds, young snakes, and smaller rodents, even bird eggs and insects. Some tropical squirrels also shift to an insect diet.
- Just like pigeons and other fauna, squirrels are synanthropes – they take profit and thrive from their interaction with humans.
- Aggression and predatory behaviors have also been noticed in some species of ground-dwelling squirrels, particularly the thirteen-lined ground squirrel.
HUMAN INTERACTION
- For humans, tree squirrels play a significant role in the forest ecosystem. Humans sometimes trap and hunt them for their meat and fur. There were also some earlier versions of American cookbooks that featured recipes for cooked squirrel.
- Some species of tree squirrels have migrated into cities and towns, being able to find food, nesting sites, and protection from hunters and predators. Many people have fun watching them cheerfully perform some antics. However, they can be pests when they trespass into buildings to look for food or make their nest, and on farms when they eat growing crops and stored food.
- Tree squirrels are sometimes the cause of electricity outages. They get inside transformers or capacitors while looking for food. Gnawing on the equipment, these animals may be electrocuted and can cause short circuits and power surges.
- Tree squirrels can also be taught to be hand-fed. Since they know how to cache surplus food, they will get as much food as they can access. Squirrels wandering in parks and on campuses in cities are aware of the thought that humans are usually one of their readily available sources of food.
Squirrel Worksheets
This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the squirrels across 22 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Squirrel worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the squirrels which are members of the family Sciuridae, which includes small or medium-sized rodents. Consisting of over 200 squirrel species worldwide, squirrels play a significant role in forest regeneration, food chains, and keeping insects under control.
Complete List Of Included Worksheets
- Squirrel Facts
- Hello Squirrel
- Label a Squirrel
- A Squirrel’s Tail
- Nutty Statements
- The Nut Job
- Squirrel Wiki
- Classify That Squirrel
- A Squirrel’s Life
- Squirrel All Over the World
- Into the Woods
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Link will appear as Squirrel Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, December 11, 2020
Use With Any Curriculum
These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.