Red Squirrel
Kingdom
Phylum
Subphylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
SPECIES
Sciurus vulgaris
Life Span
5-10 years
Top speed
23
14
km/hmph
km/h mph 
Weight
250-340
8.8-12
goz
g oz 
Length
19-23
7.5-9.1
cminch
cm inch 

The Red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) is a species of tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus common throughout Europe and Asia. It lives in trees and its long tail helps the squirrel to balance and steer when jumping from tree to tree and running along branches. The bushy tail may also keep the animal warm during sleep.

Appearance

The Red squirrel has sharp curved claws to help it to climb and descend broad tree trunks, thin branches, and even house walls. Its strong hind legs let it leap gaps between trees. The coat of the Red squirrel varies in colour with the time of year and location. There are several coat colour morphs ranging from black to red. Red coats are most common in Great Britain; in other parts of Europe and Asia different coat colours coexist within populations, much like hair colour in some human populations. The underside of the squirrel is always white-cream in colour. The Red squirrel sheds its coat twice a year, switching from a thinner summer coat to a thicker, darker winter coat with noticeably larger ear tufts (a prominent distinguishing feature of this species) between August and November. A lighter, redder overall coat colour, along with the ear tufts (in adults) and smaller size, distinguish the Eurasian red squirrel from the American eastern grey squirrel. The red colour is for camouflage when seen against the bark of pine trees.

Video

Distribution

Geography

Red squirrels occupy coniferous woods in Siberia and northern Europe, preferring Scots pine, Siberian pine, and Norway spruce. In southern and western Europe they live in broad-leaved woods where there is a better source of food year-round from the mixture of trees and shrubs. In most parts of the British Isles as well as Italy, broad-leaved woodlands are less suitable now because of competition from the introduced Grey squirrel.

Red Squirrel habitat map

Climate zones

Red Squirrel habitat map
Red Squirrel
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Habits and Lifestyle

Red squirrels are usually most active during the morning or late afternoon. This is when they eat the most food. In spring and summer, they remain resting in their nests around midday to escape the extreme heat. In winter, this midday rest is likely to be very short or missed entirely. Although these squirrels spend the majority of their time up in the trees, they come to the ground to search for food and to bury food items. Eurasian red squirrels don't hibernate, but they rest in their nests to keep safe during strong winds or bad storms, coming out only to find food. Females remain in their nests for long periods to look after their young. Red squirrels do not form groups, but males will gather within a female's territory to compete for the chance to mate with her.

Seasonal behavior

Diet and Nutrition

Red squirrels eat mostly the seeds from trees, and will neatly strip conifer cones to obtain the seeds, nuts (particularly hazelnuts but also chestnuts and beech), berries, and young shoots. They occasionally eat bird eggs or chicks.

Mating Habits

MATING BEHAVIOR
REPRODUCTION SEASON
February-March, June-July
PREGNANCY DURATION
36-40 days
BABY CARRYING
3-5 kittens
INDEPENDENT AGE
7 weeks
FEMALE NAME
doe
MALE NAME
buck
BABY NAME
pup, kit, kitten

Mating can take place in late winter from February to March between June and July in summer. Some females may mate with a number of different males. The gestation period is 36-40 days, and usually 3-5 young are born, but the number can range from 1-8. Naked, blind, and pink, the young develop slowly, with their eyes not opening before they are 27 days old. By day 30, they are covered in fur and begin to go outside the nest. Within 7 weeks they are active outside the nest and become fully independent soon after weaning. They have established their own territories by 9-11 weeks of age. They are reproductively mature when they are 1 year old but continue to develop.

Population

Population threats

Globally, there appear to be no major threats to Red squirrels at present. Locally, these squirrels may suffer from habitat loss and fragmentation, overhunting, pet trade, and competition with introduced species. In Britain and Italy, Red squirrels are partially displaced by introduced Eastern grey squirrels from North America.

Population number

According to IUCN, Red squirrels are described as common throughout most of their range, but the data for the worldwide population are not available. The Red squirrel population in the United Kingdom is known to have drastically reduced due to competition with the introduced Grey squirrel. Fewer than 140,000 were thought to exist in 2013, about 85% of them in Scotland. Overall, currently, Eurasian red squirrels are classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List; however, their numbers today are decreasing.

Ecological niche

Eurasian red squirrels affect forest communities through seed predation and also the caching of tree seeds, as forgotten caches may grow into new trees.

Fun Facts for Kids

  • The Red squirrel is the national mammal of Denmark.
  • Red squirrels can find their buried food in more than 1 foot of snow
  • The Red squirrel is thought to have reached the British Isles via Europe approximately 10,000 years ago when the last Ice Age came to an end.
  • Squirrels do not hibernate, but in winter they eat from the supplies of nuts and seeds they have buried.
  • Grey and Red squirrels cannot breed together.
  • Only 1 in 6 Red squirrels live until its first birthday due to disease, starvation, or being eaten as prey.
  • Red squirrels and their nests have protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
  • Red squirrels can swim and they can hang upside down.

Coloring Pages

References

1. Red Squirrel Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_squirrel
2. Red Squirrel on The IUCN Red List site - http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/20025/0

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