Hello everyone, my eight-year-old son Adam and I make educational series of articles on ParentingDad.
These articles aim to provide short, packed with information, practical and absorbing material about animals and nature for kids and adults.
In addition, you can watch everything in the video shown below.
Today, we will share with you the most interesting facts about squirrels.
In old Greek, “squirrel” means ‘shadow tail.’ The modern word “squirrel” started to be used in the 14th century by Anglo-Normans.
The oldest squirrel fossil dates back 40 million years ago, and it is similar to modern flying squirrels.
Squirrels are fascinating animals. They can leap ten times their body length, and when climbing, they can swivel their ankles 180 degrees to face any direction.
The hind legs of squirrels are double-jointed, allowing them to run up and down trees quickly.
A male squirrel can smell a female from up to a mile away.
There are 285 different kinds of squirrels, and you can find them everywhere except in Antarctica and Australia.
Squirrels can eat their own weight every week, roughly 1.5 pounds or 0.7 Kg.
Their diet primarily consists of nuts, fruits, berries, and seeds, but they will eat other food if it is available, like insects, eggs, or even meat.
Squirrels can fall from a height of 30 meters or 98 feet without getting hurt.
They use their tail as a parachute and for balance!
The tail is like a built-in blanket that keeps them warm in the winter and gives them shade in the summer.
Flying squirrels can glide up to 290 feet or 90 meters distances!
They prefer to spend most of their lives living alone.
Squirrels can see behind themselves thanks to the positioning of their eyes.
Squirrels’ front four teeth never stop growing.
They zigzag to escape predators.
This is helpful when hawks or other predators are trying to attack them. They will run in a zigzag back-and-forth pattern whenever they feel threatened, which proved effective against most predators.
The typical life span is 5 to 10 years.
They love to steal from each other.
Sometimes they may pretend to bury a nut to throw off potential thieves.
That is when we see a squirrel dig a hole and vigorously cover it up without putting a nut inside. They will do this a few times in a row to mislead another squirrel to steal it.
Most can smell the nuts buried under one foot of snow, leaves, and soil.
This is lifesaving during the cold winter periods.
Just a few squirrel species hibernate. The majority rely on hidden food caches and fat.
Squirrels have a complex social structure and use vocalizations, body language, and scent marking to communicate with one another.
Squirrels are exciting animals with unique traits and skills. They are intelligent, cute, playful, and very quick.
We hope you enjoyed learning more about squirrels today. Thank you for watching and reading.
Remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel, Top 10 Facts, for more videos on different animals as we make them often, and to visit our website for more great articles frequently.
You can find more great articles and videos about animals here:
Alpacas, Ants Rescue Their Injured Friends, Butterflies, Cheetahs, Dolphins, Do Fish Sleep, Dogs – Which dog breeds are the smartest, Elephants, Great White Sharks, Sharks in aquariums, Snakes, Hummingbirds, Jellyfish, Lions, Pigeons, Red Pandas, Owls, Seagulls, Snails, Squirrels, and Wolves.
If you found this ant rescue story fascinating, be kind and share it with your friends.
And remember to return to our blog ParentingDad.com for more incredible insights into the fascinating world of nature.
Until next time, keep exploring and appreciating the wonders of our planet!
Adam and I wish you a great day. Stay well, and keep smiling.
Keep being curious and asking questions!
This article might contain links to the products, so we can get a small commission if you buy them. That way, you are supporting this blog, for which I am thankful.