Red squirrel
Tamiasciurus hudsonicus
2
Nom français: Écureuil roux
2
- Smaller than the grey squirrel, slightly bigger than the chipmunk.
- VERY territorial and not very sociable, they often lead solitary lives. They defend their nests and food caches quite aggressively. If you walk through their territory you will hear their alarm call.
- Studies have shown that their vocalization fall into two categories: those of repeated notes and those of variable notes. Calls of repeated notes are given to display territory while variable notes would be given during aggressive encounters with other squirrels and moments of alarm.
- It scrupulously hide its food in food caches (usually an underground chamber) especially at the end of the summer.
- It often feed at the same spot day after day, which results in a large pile of cone scales and nutshells on the ground.
- They often feed on mushrooms and have the ingenious habit of taking the mushrooms out of the ground and hanging them up in the trees so that they will dry. They can them be stored in its food cache.
- Throughout their territory, they have "highways" through the treetops which they regularly use to get around. In the winter, they can dig a network of tunnels where there is deep snow.
- There would be one or two breeding periods per year. The female is in estrus and receptive for one day during the breeding period, and it is the only time she will allow the male in her territory. Baby squirrels are born blind and without fur. They are weaned after about 7-8 weeks. The mother will establish a new territory that excludes the young, move them to a new nest at the edge of her territory and eventually stop visiting their nest. Once they are weaned, she will not let them back into her territory and can be very aggressive. Sometimes she might also move herself to a new territory.
Fontes e Créditos
- (c) Mykola Swarnyk, alguns direitos reservados (CC BY-SA), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:KillarneyPP_Tamiasciurus_hudsonicus.jpg
- (c) Alice Roy-Bolduc, alguns direitos reservados (CC BY-SA)
