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Introduction to squirrel

Chinese name: Squirrel

English name: Squirrel

Scientific name: Sciurus vulgaris,

Genus: Animalia, Phylum Vertebrates, Class Mammalia, Order Rodentia, Suborder Squirrels, Sciuridae, Genus Sciuri

Personality: Gentle, cute, well-behaved, docile, lovable, very hard-working, Love cleanliness and be smart.

Characteristics: Large, fluffy tail.

Distribution: The origin is the northeast, northwest and Europe of my country. In addition to Oceania and Antarctica, it is distributed in other regions of the world. Squirrels have a wide distribution range and can be found throughout boreal forest areas. In my country, it is mainly distributed in the mountainous areas of the three northeastern provinces, northeastern Inner Mongolia, Hebei and northern Shanxi, Ningxia, Gansu, Xinjiang and other provinces and regions; abroad, it is distributed from the Far East of Russia, Japan, North Korea, northern Mongolia, and westward to Western Europe. In coniferous forests, there are not many squirrels every year. Their number depends on the number of conifer seeds in winter; because their food is mainly plant seeds and fruits, and seeds sometimes account for more than 90%; Spruce seeds are not harvested every year. In years when the pine cone harvest is poor, squirrels will move to places with more food to forage; and in years when food is abundant, they will reproduce in large numbers. Breeding numbers are high.

(In addition, you can refer to the Chinese language book for the first semester of the sixth grade of the nine-year compulsory education in Shanghai (applicable version). The 17th lesson is The Squirrel and the Beijing Normal University Edition for the Third Grade, Volume 2, written by Bufeng. The Chinese textbook for the second lesson of the three units and the compulsory education curriculum standard experimental textbook published by Jiangsu Education Press (Chinese seventh grade lesson 15) 2009 Fuzhou People's Publishing House compulsory education curriculum standard experimental textbook, fifth grade The 10th lesson of the first semester (volume 1) is also written by Bufeng as "squirrel")

[Edit this paragraph] Morphological characteristics of squirrels

Squirrels are usually medium-sized and are cold temperate needles. Typical representative animals in leaf forests and mixed forests. Squirrels have 5 molars in the upper jaw and 4 in the lower jaw. The number of molars in the upper and lower jaws is different. There are no wings of skin between the front and rear limbs. The limbs are strong, the toes have sharp claws, and the claw ends are hook-shaped. The weight is usually about 350 grams. Female individuals are slightly heavier than male individuals. The squirrel has a dignified and light body, with a body length of about 18-26 cm, and a long and thick tail. The tail length is more than two-thirds of the body length, but not as long as the body length.

The tail hair is dense, long and fluffy, and the limbs and front and rear feet are longer, but the forelimbs are shorter than the hind limbs. The ear shells are well developed and can reach the eyes when folded forward. In winter, there is a bunch of long black hairs at the end of the ears. The back of the body from the tip of the snout to the base of the tail, the sides of the body and the outside of the limbs are all brown-gray, the base of the hair is gray-black, and the tips of the hair are brown or gray. The abdomen is white from the back of the lower collar to the base of the tail, and the insides of the limbs. The back and ventral sides of the tail are brown-black, the base of the hair is gray, and the tips of the hair are brown-black. The muzzle, cheeks and lower back are the same color as the back, but more bluish gray, the ear shells are dark gray, and the winter hair has large black tufts. Individual coat colors vary greatly, ranging from blue-gray, gray, brown-gray, dark gray and dark brown, etc. With regional differences, the coat color also changes. For example, the color of squirrels in Liaoning is grayer, while the color of squirrels in southern my country is darker. In addition, the coat color is also affected by the season, with gray or gray-brown hair in winter and black or dark brown hair in summer.

Very cute

Living habits of squirrels

Squirrels have particularly long ears and tail hairs, which are adapted to life in trees; they use long hook-like claws and its tail hanging upside down from a branch. At dawn and dusk, they will also leave the trees and hunt on the ground. After squirrels find abundant food in autumn, they will use tree holes or dig holes in the ground to store fruits and other food, and at the same time block the hole entrances with soil or fallen leaves.

Squirrels have red hair all over their bodies in summer, and in autumn they change into black and gray winter hair that tightly covers their bodies. Newborn squirrels are hairless and have unclear eyes. They do not start to grow hair until 8 days after birth. They open their eyes after 30 days. They can eat hard fruits in 45 days and become very agile. Squirrels are very docile little guys to their owners. We should also treat them gently, so that they will be devoted to you and will never hurt you with their teeth. Of course, they will gently nibble your fingers with their teeth and play with you. They will feel itchy, which is a sign of their friendliness towards you.

Squirrels build nests on dense branches, or use the abandoned nests of crows and magpies, or sometimes in tree holes; in addition to eating wild fruits, they also eat twigs, buds, and leaves. , as well as insects and bird eggs. As soon as autumn arrives, squirrels begin to store food. A squirrel often stores several kilograms of food in several places. Sometimes you can see squirrels drying food on trees to prevent it from going bad and moldy. In this way, in the cold winter, the squirrels will not have to worry about having nothing to eat.

Reproduction

Squirrels have a strong ability to give birth to children. Like other rodents, they mature early and reproduce quickly. Every year in January and February, male and female squirrels begin to fall in love. The male squirrel swings his thick tail and jumps on the tree canopy to chase the female squirrel. At this time, the female squirrel is also excited and enthusiastically following her. The estrus period lasts for about two weeks, during which the male and female are almost inseparable. Female rats give birth to pups on 35-40 days of gestation, usually two, and occasionally three, per year. Female rats that give birth in the first year give birth to 3 to 6 pups per litter, and after the second year, they can give birth to 5 to 10 pups per litter.

The newborn cub is smooth and hairless, with red body and closed eyes. It weighs 7 to 8.5 grams, has a body length of 5.6 cm and a tail length of 2.4 cm. Young mice begin to mature sexually at 8-9 months after birth, that is, they can mate and breed in the second year.

Squirrels like to eat vegetarian food and occasionally eat meat. Its vegetarian diet mainly consists of dried fruits and seeds of Korean pine, spruce, fir, larch, Scotch pine, hazelnuts and acorns; its meat-based diet mainly consists of insects, larvae, ant eggs and other small animals. When food is scarce, squirrels have other options. In the spring, we eat tree buds, in the summer we eat mushrooms, berries, bilberries and other berries. In the autumn, there is an abundance of food, and we can eat whatever we want, but the most delicious ones are the red pine nuts. When it comes to picking pine seeds, this is a specialty of squirrels. No matter how tall the tree is or where the cones grow, squirrels can get them in their mouths. The specific process is: it first bites off the mature cones and drops them to the ground, then comes down from the tree, like a primate, uses its front feet to peel off the scales of the cones, bites the seed coat, takes out the seeds, and feeds on the pine nuts. What’s interesting is that when the squirrel is frightened, it doesn’t easily put down the food, but runs away with the cones in its mouth.

Smell

The squirrel’s sense of smell is extremely developed, and it can accurately distinguish whether pine nuts are empty or solid. All the seeds abandoned by squirrels on the top of the pine cone have no kernels. Although the outer shell of the seeds has not been bitten open, squirrels can still identify them by sniffing them. Squirrels also have the instinct to store food. When the red pine seeds mature in autumn, the squirrels will run around with the pine seeds in their mouths and transport them to a safe place to hide them. A few or more than a dozen grains will be buried in the ground in a pile to be used as overwintering food. Although the ground is covered with snow in winter, squirrels can still find hidden food without any difficulty, and some may miss it. But it is precisely because they are buried underground that they cannot be found, which helps the spread and spread of Korean pine seeds and promotes natural regeneration.

Squirrels are widely distributed, almost all over the forest. Its population size depends to a large extent on the abundance of food. If food is abundant for several consecutive years, the population will increase significantly. Especially in the years when pine seeds are harvested, squirrels living in other places will migrate here in groups and breed on the spot the next year, so the population will increase sharply; if this area When the pine seed harvest fails, the squirrels will move their families to find another habitat, causing a sharp decline in the population in the area. The behavior of squirrels in determining the number of populations as food becomes abundant and scarce is truly superior. It not only helps the population reproduce but also helps the population spread widely.

The living habits of squirrels are different from other animals. They like to move in broad daylight, especially in the early morning. They often jump back and forth between tree trunks and tree branches, sometimes looking for food, sometimes playing. Unfettered, so uncomfortable. Squirrels do not have the habit of hibernating, but they are also afraid of the cold and are not very active in the mid-winter season. Especially in windy weather in severe winter, the time out of the nest is shorter. They usually come out for activities around 9:30 am for 1 to 2 hours, and then come out for activities for 1 hour to 2 hours at around 1 pm, and stay in the nest for the rest of the time. A squirrel has a habit that no matter how cold the weather is, it never eats in its nest. Instead, it sits on a branch, facing the sun. It holds the food with its forelimbs and brings it into its mouth. It chews and tastes it with relish. Sometimes it listens attentively, and sometimes it turns its eyes to look around. All around, people were behaving funny and making people laugh.

Although the squirrel is one of the larger rodents, because it is not at the top of the food chain, it is still threatened by natural enemies. One is carnivorous raptors, such as sables, skunks, and squirrels. Green weasels, lonely weasels, yellow weasels, owls, golden eagles, etc. The other type is mainly magpies and crows, which prey on squirrel babies during the breeding season. In a sense, the former type of natural enemy is good for the healthy reproduction of squirrel populations, because most of the people hunted by natural enemies are old, weak, and sick. The latter kind of natural enemy is harmful rather than helpful.

Squirrels not only have a cute image, but more importantly, their economic value is widely known. Squirrel skin has always been one of the bulk wild furs in Heilongjiang Province, and it used to be an important product for exporting and earning foreign exchange. Squirrel skin can be used to make coats, scarves, hats, and tail hair can be used to make paintbrushes, etc. In recent years, due to the reduction of red pine forests, the production of red pine seeds that squirrels rely on for food has decreased, resulting in a decrease in the number of squirrels. At present, the annual output of squirrel skins is less than 20,000 pieces, and the highest in history was 185,000 pieces. It can be seen that the number of squirrels has become scarce and should be strictly protected.

[Edit this paragraph] Reproductive Habits of Squirrels

Squirrels come into estrus around January or February every spring, and the estrus period lasts about two weeks. The appropriate age for squirrels to start breeding is 8 to 9 weeks for females and 9 to 10 weeks for males. For squirrels, there is also a estrus period in autumn. During the non-breeding season, male and female adults respectively occupy certain places as their own living areas. In the wild, females protect a certain area of ??territory to protect squirrel eaters and do not allow other individuals of the same species to enter. The same is true for male individuals. However, during the breeding season, the protection of the territory is obviously relaxed, allowing male individuals to enter. During estrus, female individuals lose appetite, increase activity, become irritable and excited; when breeding under artificial breeding conditions, be sure to select individuals with strong physiques, glossy coats, good spirits, and strong appetites. Male individuals are required to have strong sexual desire and strong breeding ability; while females are required to have strong maternal instincts, a large number of fetuses, and sufficient milk production.

During breeding, one male and one female or one male and multiple females are used for mating. The squirrel's pregnancy period is about 35 to 40 days. It enters the lactation period in early April and can give birth to about three times a year, with 4 to 6 babies each time. As long as there is sufficient food, female squirrels can reproduce more individuals and have strong fecundity. Newborn cubs use maternal milk as the source of all nutritional needs. Therefore, special attention should be paid to the nutritional status of the mother at this time. When the squirrels are first born, they are very small, cannot see, and develop very slowly. When they are nearly 30 days old, It is only after one and a half months that the little squirrel is willing to go outdoors for activities.

When the squirrels’ eyes are about to open, they will become close to people if they are taken away from their mother and raised. Initially feed warm milk (30-40°C) through a straw, 3-5 times a day. Gradually switch to milk-soaked bread or other soft foods. Even if you start raising them after they grow up, as long as you train them slowly and patiently, they will become very close to people and crawl on the owners.

[Edit this paragraph] Types of squirrels

According to different living environments, the Squirrel family is divided into tree squirrels, ground squirrels and stone squirrels. There are nearly 212 species in 35 genera in the world, and 11 genera and 24 species in China. Among them, the rock squirrel and the side-striped rock squirrel are endemic to China.

There are many types of squirrels. There are about 240 species in the world and 26 species in my country. Among them, the squirrels living in the woods are very common in Northeast my country and North China, so they are also called common squirrels. Its body is slender and its body hair is gray, dark brown or auburn, so it is also called gray squirrel.

There are three common squirrels:

1. Red-bellied squirrel:

The red-bellied squirrel is also known as "red-bellied squirrel", and people in mountainous areas also call it "red-bellied squirrel". Hang the rat". It is a medium-sized arboreal squirrel.

Size: 19~25cm

Weight: 280~420g

Characteristics: short muzzle, small and round ears, thick neck

< p> Red-bellied squirrels mainly live in dense forests. Their living habits are somewhat similar to that of gray squirrels. They like to be active in the morning and dusk. Their food habits mainly include eating various nuts, such as pine cones, chestnuts and berries, as well as various leaves. , twigs, flower buds and bird eggs, chicks and insects, etc. It can breed twice a year, giving birth to 3 to 4 cubs each time, with the majority being 2 cubs.

2. Long-nosed squirrel:

Long-nosed squirrel is also known as "red-billed squirrel".

Size: 20~25 cm

Characteristics: Slightly short limbs, slender tail, short and fluffy tail hair, gray-brown back hair, gray-white abdominal hair

Long-nosed squirrels generally live in dense forests, and their habits are not much different from those of ordinary squirrels. However, they are not completely arboreal. They often forage on the ground, fallen trees and haystacks, and are most active in the morning and dusk.

3. Rock squirrel

Rock squirrel is also known as "rock rat" and "sweeping tail", and its appearance is somewhat like a red-bellied squirrel.

Size: 20~25 cm

Tail length: 15 cm

Characteristics: Large and obvious ears, slightly short limbs, fluffy and sparse tail hair, green back hair Gray, the hair on the abdomen and inner limbs is yellow-gray, and the lower jaw is white.

Rock squirrels live in rocky areas in mountainous areas. Although rock squirrels can climb trees, they mainly live among rocks, usually nesting in rock crevices. Rock squirrels are active during the day and mainly feed on wild fruits or plant seeds, such as nuts, walnuts, apricots, etc., but sometimes they also eat crops, making them a pest in the forest.

Other species

6. Chipmunk

Size: body length about 15cm, tail length about 12 cm

Origin: Northeast Asia Japan, Hokkaido

Dietary habits: Plant-based omnivore

There are several small squirrels with vertical stripes on their backs. Squirrels that have just left the nest are easy to tame if they are raised separately from their parents. Because it moves quickly, be careful as it escapes while feeding. It is necessary to prepare a taller cage, and to avoid insufficient exercise, a suction wheel should be provided in the cage for the squirrels to play and exercise. Nest boxes should also be installed. As a hiding place, there is a phenomenon of hibernation in nature. If it is kept in a warm room, it does not need to hibernate. Due to poor heat resistance, the cage should be moved to a well-ventilated area in summer.

7. Ezo squirrel

Size: Body length is about 25cm, tail length is about 20cm

Origin: Hokkaido

Eating habits: Plant-based omnivore

Distributed in Hokkaido, Japan, it is a subspecies of Japanese squirrel distributed south of Honshu, Japan. It is slightly larger than the Japanese squirrel. Coat color changes between summer and winter. In winter, the back is gray, the belly is white, and the ears have long hair; in summer, the whole body is light reddish brown, and the ears have no long hair. They are raised in the same way as chipmunks, requiring a large, sturdy cage due to their larger size. There is no need to hibernate in winter, and activities can be carried out as usual.

8. Prairie Dog

Size: Body length about 30cm, tail length about 8cm

Origin: North America

Eating habits: Omnivorous, mainly plant-based

Body color ranges from yellow to brown. The body is short and stocky, with a short tail.

They live in groups in interconnected caves dug in the grassland. Because they are accustomed to living in groups, they will not fight even if they are kept in large numbers. They often appear in ecological films and are very popular cute animals. Especially its standing and sitting movements are particularly cute and easy to tame. At the same time, the tail will wag like a dog, which is very cute. The food is mainly plants, and artificial feed for hamsters and dog food are also good choices. Although there are commercially available pairs, breeding is still quite difficult.

9. Japanese flying squirrel

Size: body length about 15cm, tail length about 12 cm

Origin: Asia

Eating habits : Plant-based omnivore

The back is grey-brown and the belly is white. There are membranes connecting the limbs, which allow them to glide through the air when opened. The nocturnal animals have unique big eyes and are very cute in appearance. Mainly active at night, it is the most suitable pet for night owls. Prepare a nest box for the birds in the cage, which can be used when sleeping during the day. After being tamed, it can be released outside the cage and glide inside the house. They belong to the same family as squirrels and can be raised in similar ways. Usually, they eat fruits and squirrel artificial feed as their main food, and occasionally feed some animal food.

10. European red squirrel

Size: Body length about 30cm, tail length about 20cm

Origin: Central Europe to West Asia

Diet Habits: Plant-based omnivore

Large squirrel. The body is bright reddish brown and the belly is white. The ears have long hair. It is large in size and lively in movement, so it needs a fairly large cage when raised.

11. Tricolor Squirrel

Size: Body length about 20cm, tail length about 15cm

Origin: Malay Peninsula, Sumatra

Dietary habits: Plant-based omnivore

A medium-sized squirrel that lives in tropical rainforests. The back and tail are dark reddish brown, with stripes of white stripes from the cheeks to the sides. The forelimbs and ventral sides are yellowish brown, and the belly is white. Among squirrels whose coat color is generally plain and drab, it is one of the less gorgeous ones. They live in trees, but mostly get their food from the ground. Just raise them in the same way as other squirrels such as chipmunks.

There are six species of animals in the family Sciuridae, namely three squirrels and three flying squirrels, namely the red-bellied squirrel, striped squirrel, Hollow's squirrel, great red flying squirrel, white-faced flying squirrel and Little flying squirrel.

Squirrels usually give birth to three or four in a litter. The squirrel's fur is gray-brown. It sheds its fur after winter, and the new fur is darker than the shed fur. They use their claws and teeth to comb the fur all over their bodies, and their bodies are always smooth and clean.