10 interesting facts about squirrels.
Squirrels are small, intelligent rodents. They are thrifty, agile and curious, known to both adults and children. Here are some interesting facts about them:
1. Proteins are easily tamed and get used to the person. Despite this, they breed in captivity with difficulty. In the wild, the female brings 3-10 squirrels twice a year.
2. As you know, for the winter squirrels make stocks. But they eat not all. A good half of all these stocks remain untouched due to the “forgetfulness” of the squirrels, who cannot remember where they hid their stocks. In the end, these supplies become prey to other birds and rodents, or simply disappear. Many of them sprout and turn into trees. It turns out that squirrels not only “feed” other animals, but also “plant” new trees.
3. Contrary to the prevailing opinion that squirrels eat only nuts, these animals can also be predators. In fact, they are omnivores. Squirrels can attack small birds and rodents, as well as steal eggs from nests.
4. These animals owe their name to a kind of monetary unit, which was squirrel skins. This monetary unit was called “Bel.”
5. Squirrels swim well. At the same time, during swimming, the main task of the squirrel is not to wet the tail. The fact is that if the tail gets wet, he immediately pulls the squirrel to the bottom. So, in swimming, the squirrel needs to be extremely careful and keep the tail high above the water.
6. In female protein, the tail is the main attribute of beauty. Beautiful fluffy tail – the same value as the long and thick hair of a woman in the human world. Male squirrels pay more attention to females with lush tails.
7. Even if the squirrel falls from the height of a multi-storey building, it will remain unharmed due to its tail. The tail serves as a squirrel with a parachute and a rudder. With the help of a tail, a squirrel can make huge jumps from tree to tree, without any danger.
8. The female squirrel can “adopt” the squirrel, if he was left without parents. However, there are several subtleties: almost always, the receiving squirrel is to some degree a relative of the squirrel. In addition, the squirrel clearly calculates its capabilities so that the adopted baby is not to the detriment of its own squirrels. Most often, she takes only one cub.
9. The molt of an ordinary squirrel occurs twice a year, but the hair on the tail changes only once a year. In summer, the fur of the red squirrel, in the winter, it changes to gray, and tassels appear on the ears.
10. The squirrel is active in the daytime, and spends the night in hollows, but in the taiga it often builds a gayno-spherical nest of branches up to half a meter in diameter with 1-2 side entrances, lined with moss and lichens from the inside. In severe frosts, the protein may not leave the gayno for several days, but it never hibernates.