Squirrel

True Wild Life | Squirrel | There are many different species of squirrel natively found in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa. Squirrels are small rodents generally between 10 cm and 20 cm tall, although some species of squirrel like marmots and prairie dogs around the size of a small beaver. The red squirrel native to the United Kingdom is rapidly becoming extinct due to the rise in eastern grey squirrel numbers. In the UK grey squirrels are classed as vermin so it is illegal to release any into the wild as the grey squirrel destroys the habitats of the smaller native red squirrel.

There are around 50 species of flying squirrel found in tree tops worldwide. These flying squirrels cannot fly as such, but more jump and glide to their destination, with the flying squirrel able to use its shorter tail to help it balance.

There are about six species of ground squirrel still found mainly in America with the exception of the African ground squirrel which resembles a small meerkat. Marmots and prairie dogs can grow to up to 60 cm in length and live for more than 20 years in captivity.

Squirrels eat nuts, berries, shoots and occasionally insects. Most species of squirrel hibernates during the colder winter months, with the squirrels beginning to store food in their dens during the autumn in preparation for the winter.

Indian Palm Squirrel

True Wild Life | Indian Palm Squirrel | Indian Palm Squirrels are also known as the 3 stripe squirrel due to the mix of dark and white stripes on the back of the Indian palm squirrel. The Indian palm squirrel can be found nesting in the tree tops of exotic trees. The Indian palm squirrel is only naturally found in parts of India and Sri Lanka. Recent accidental introduction of the Indian palm squirrel into western Australia has made them a pest as the Indian palm squirrel has no real natural predators which has made the population of Indian palm squirrels in Australia thrive.

The Indian palm squirrel naturally hunts for small mammals, birds and insects but the Indian palm squirrel has caused problems in recent years as the Indian palm squirrel has taken to eating crops. An Indian palm squirrel only weighs around 100g making the squirrel easy prey for small meat-eating mammals and birds. The Indian palm squirrel has often been reported going into peoples houses and the Indian palm squirrel can often be seen running up and down trees and houses.

Unlike other species of squirrel, the Indian palm squirrel does not hibernate in winter but instead the Indian palm squirrels will only emerge from the warmth of their nests during the afternoon on sunny days.

Indian palm squirrels create nests made up from grass and it is in the these nests that Indian palm squirrels give birth to and wean their young. Typically Indian palm squirrels give birth to 2 or 3 baby Indian palm squirrels which are weaned by the mother Indian palm squirrel until the baby Indian palm squirrel is around 10 weeks old.

Gopher

True Wild Life | Gopher | There are two main species of gopher, the pocket gopher and the Richardsons ground squirrel, both of these species of gopher are found in North America. The gopher is a small squirrel-like rodent which lives in burrows underground. The gopher digs large networks of tunnels and subterranean chambers which are referred to as gopher towns. These gopher towns contain an extensive network of tunnels that often result in the disruption of agriculture and landscapes.

The gopher towns can stretch for vast distances through mountainous terrain and often contain thousands of gopher residents. The adult gophers tend to situate themselves at the front of the gopher town and whistle to the others when the adult gophers spot potential predators or sense nearing danger. Gophers are small animals, usually around 15cm in length and a quarter of a kilogram in weight this however is slightly dependent on the species of gopher.

The gopher is a true hoarding mammal as the gopher stores the food that the gopher finds in its cheek pouches before taking the food back to the gopher burrow, where the gophers are known to collect astonishing amounts of food. The presence of a gopher can be determined by the mound of dirt that can be seen on the surface of the ground. In a similar way to the mole, the tunneling of the gopher creates a large amount of dirt being pushed out behind it, and this therefore creates the gopher mound.

Some species of gopher, such as the Richardsons ground squirrel, are known to hibernate during the cold northern winters. Baby gophers will usually hibernate at the beginning of Autumn in their first year of life, but the adult gophers often begin their hibernation in the middle of the summer, around July time! The gophers hibernate until the spring, when the male gophers emerge from hibernation first in order to establish their territories before the female gophers wake up.

Gophers are omnivorous animals with the diet of the gopher being predominantly comprised of nuts, seeds and berries along with grass, grains and insects which is where the gopher gets the majority of its protein from. The gopher however, has a number of natural predators mainly because of the size and abundance of the gopher in certain areas. The natural predators of the gopher include large birds, badgers and coyotes and of course, the human, who is known to kill the gopher as an agricultural pest.

Flying Squirrel

  

True Wild Life | Flying Squirrel | The flying squirrel is a medium-sized rodent, closely related to the squirrels found in woodlands and across grasslands around the world. Flying squirrels tend to be slightly larger in size than the common squirrel. Despite the name, flying squirrels cannot actually fly, although they can be airborne for a remarkable length of time. Instead of flying, flying squirrels move through the air by gliding (normally between the trees), with the longest recorded glide of a flying squirrel being nearly 90 meters.

Flying squirrels have a furry, stretchy membrane that stretches between their front and back legs. When the flying squirrel needs to get away quickly, it opens it's arms and legs out and uses the membrane like a parachute. Flying squirrels also have large eyes, and stubby flattened tails.

There are nearly 50 different species of flying squirrel found in forests around the world. Flying squirrels range in size and colour depending on the species of flying squirrel. The largest species of flying squirrel is the Woolly flying squirrel, which is found in Pakistan and the smallest flying squirrel species is the pygmy flying squirrel, found in the jungles of Borneo and Malaysia.

Flying squirrels are omnivorous animals meaning that their diet is based on both plant and animal matter. The flying squirrel is a nocturnal animal, so it forages for food under the cover of night as flying squirrels are not able to easily escape the birds of prey that hunt during the day. Flying squirrels eat nuts, seeds, fruits, berries, insects and bird eggs. Due to their small size, flying squirrels have numerous natural predators wherever they live in the world. Domestic cats, raccoons, snakes, birds of prey, foxes dogs and coyotes are all primary predators of the flying squirrel.

Flying squirrels are known to breed twice a year, in the early spring and again in the summer. After a gestation period of roughly 40 days, the female flying squirrel gives birth to between 2 and 7 baby flying squirrels, which are blind and naked when they are born. The baby flying squirrels develop fur and open their eyes when they are about a month old. The young flying squirrels begin to glide and forage with their mother when they are roughly 2 months old.