![]() There are sensitive hairs on the forepaws, just above the wrists, and females have a sensitive single hair on each nipple, eight in all. Their sense of touch is assisted by sensitive whiskers (vibrissae) on their face that help them feel around in the dark. They also have such a keen sense of smell they can detect a buried nut under a layer of snow. The squirrels have well-developed senses of taste, hearing, eyesight, and touch. (They do fall sometimes, and one lucky squirrel fell 100 feet (30.5 m) without apparent injury.) If they must swim, they can, and do it well. They can run at up to 20 miles per hour (32 km) and leap up to 8 feet (2.4 m). On the ground, they’re fast and can quickly dodge away from predators. All in all, these critters can perform some pretty fancy footwork. Their ankles are double-jointed, which allows them to turn 180 degrees. Their claws are long, curved and extremely sharp and their hind legs are strong. The back feet, which are longer, have five toes. Four toes (sometimes called fingers) are on the front. Fear, anger, annoyance, aggression, and other emotions are conveyed by its position, whether its held straight up, straight back or curled over the body. It can save a life when a pursuing predator catches a squirrel by the tail–the fur, skin and some of the vertebrae will easily break off–and the squirrel can keep on running (it doesn’t grow back).īut, that’s not all! It also communicates. If they fall, it’s a mini-parachute, and it’s a rudder when they swim. Their tail acts as a stabilizer when a squirrel goes airborne between trees or branches. This Fox Squirrel’s tail is put to good use in wintry weather. This gives the squirrels a wide side-view but prevents them from seeing directly in front. ![]() Large, black eyes are set high on the head and slightly to the sides. Sensitive whiskers dot their muzzle, as well as other areas of their face. Tree squirrels have small, upright ears and their mouth is located slightly on the underside of their face. There’s a beautiful an all-black mutation of both the Fox and Gray squirrels that inhabits some areas of the Midwest and Northeast. Like the Fox, it sheds its hair twice a year, in spring and fall. The Gray Squirrel is considerably smaller than the Fox Squirrel, at just 9.1–11.8 inches long (23.1–30.0 cm), plus a 7.5–9.8-inch tail (17.8 to 25.4 cm). An exception among Gray Squirrels is an all-white (not albino) population in Brevard, North Carolina and a few other cities. Its belly is whitish, and sometimes its tail may be a lighter color, too. The Gray Squirrel is predominately what its name announces–gray–although some have a brownish tinge. The Fox Squirrel is the largest tree squirrel native to North America. Whatever the color, they all shed their hair twice a year, summer and fall. ![]() There are Fox Squirrels with a patterned dark-brown body, or a black face with a white nose, or other variation. Some small cities, including Marysville, Kansas, have an all-black population. But, it has the most variable coloration of any squirrel in the world, with subspecies that produce dazzling exceptions. The Fox Squirrel is typically brown-grey to brown-yellow to brown-orange, with a brownish-orange underside. That places it in the Eocene Epoch when Earth was covered by forests. The earliest known squirrel fossil, which looks similar to today’s flying squirrels, is 47 to 33 million years old. You may have several squirrels living in your yard in overlapping territories. They have home territories of a few acres, where they spend their entire lives. The two generally don’t share the same habitat, but when they do, they don’t interbreed. Gray Squirrels prefer dense stands of trees. They’re tolerant of prairie-type environments. There are 10 subspecies of Fox Squirrels and five of Gray Squirrels.įox Squirrels spend much of their time on the ground searching for food and prefer woodlands next to openings. Their suborder, Sciurinae, includes other tree squirrels, as well as ground squirrels, chipmunks, and marmots. The Fox Squirrel (or Eastern Fox Squirrel) and the Gray Squirrel (also known the Eastern* Gray Squirrel) are rodents in the family Sciuridae. Where there are differences, it will be noted. Much of what follows applies to both squirrel species. Both are native to the eastern half of the United States but have been introduced into western areas. We try first one method and then another and another, with the squirrels usually the victors! The most common of the thieving squirrels in the United States are Fox Squirrels and Gray Squirrels. Do you feed squirrels? Would you rather be feeding birds? Across the nation, little battles rage between people and the squirrels that steal from their feeders at warp speed.
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