Squirrel

Related Topics:
Squirrel_Nut_Zippers :: Squirrel_Island :: Squirrels

This article is about the animal. For the programming language, see Squirrel programming language. For the Scientology-related meaning, see Scientology beliefs and practices.

Squirrel is the common name for rodents of the family Sciuridae (from Greek skia "shadow" and oura "tail" i.e. "tail that casts a shadow"). In everyday speech in the English-speaking world it usually refers to members of the genera Sciurus and Tamiasciurus. These typical members of the family are tree squirrels with large bushy tails, and are indigenous to Europe, Asia and the Americas. Similar genera are found in Africa. However, the Sciuridae also include flying squirrels, and ground squirrels such as the chipmunks, prairie dogs, and woodchucks. The unrelated family Anomaluridae also have "squirrel" in their common name, though they are usually referred to as "scaly-tailed flying squirrels". The word squirrel comes from the Old French esqurial, which itself comes from the Vulgar Latin word scuriolus (squirrel).

Background

Typical squirrels include the European Red Squirrel Sciurus vulgaris, the Fox Squirrel S. niger, the Eastern Gray Squirrel S. carolinensis, the Western Gray Squirrel S. griseus, the Douglas Squirrel Tamiasciurus douglasii, and the American Red Squirrel Tamiasciurus hudsonicus.

The "Black Squirrel" is actually a variant of the Eastern Gray Squirrel. It is thought that the black variant developed its dark coat to better absorb heat in colder climates. Although considered rare in many areas, it is the dominant variety in most of Ontario, Quebec, certain areas of the Northeastern United States, and as far south as Maryland and Virginia. Black squirrels, appearing to be identical to the red squirrels in the area, are also fairly common in the midwestern United States, particularly in some communities in southwestern Iowa, such as Council Bluffs, Manilla, and Missouri Valley. Black squirrels may also be found in Marysville, Kansas and Omaha, Nebraska. In the United Kingdom, a colony of black squirrels has existed around the town of Letchworth Garden City for many years. They have also been seen in the Fox Lake area in Illinois.

The Red Squirrel populations in Britain, Ireland, and, more recently, northern Italy, have declined and become regionally extinct in recent decades, primarily because of competition from Gray Squirrels (introduced from North America), but also habitat loss. Conservation efforts include preserving and planting the conifer forests that Red Squirrels prefer. The recent colonisation of mainland Europe from Italy by Gray Squirrels is expected to result ultimately in the extinction of the Red Squirrel over most of Europe.

White Squirrels can be found in Olney, Illinois and Brevard, North Carolina and there have been sightings in Effingham, Illinois, Lemont, Illinois and Washington, DC.

Diet and feeding behavior

One well-known trait of some species of squirrel is the gathering and storing of nuts for the winter. These squirrels are scatter-hoarders, i.e. they will gather nuts and store them in any accessible hiding place, usually by burying them. Recent research shows that they have excellent memories for the locations of these caches. Another characteristic trait of several types of squirrels, especially ground squirrels, is their tendency to rise on their hind legs and curl their paws flat against their chests when they sense any kind of danger. They will then survey their surrounding territories. If they feel that they are in peril, they will often send the warning call, a loud screeching sound, to alert other squirrels. Then there is a mad rush to the burrow.

Unlike rabbits or deer, squirrels cannot digest cellulose, and must rely on foods rich in protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Early spring is the hardest time of year for squirrels, as buried nuts begin to sprout and are no longer available, but new food sources have not become available yet. During these times squirrels rely heavily on the buds of trees, in particular, those of the Silver Maple. Despite popular impression, squirrels are actually omnivores; as well as eating a wide variety of plant food, including nuts, seeds, fruits, fungi (for example, mushrooms), and green vegetation, they also eat insects, eggs, and even small birds, smaller mammals, and frogs. It is also a common occurrence that these foods replace nuts in some of the tropics. There has even been a report of squirrels eating dogs.

Squirrels are generally clever and persistent animals; in residential neighborhoods they are notorious for eating out of bird feeders, digging in potted plants either to bury or recover seeds, and for setting up house in sheltered areas including attics. While many companies sell bird feeders which are supposedly "squirrel-proof", most of them in fact are not.

Squirrels are sometimes also pests because they chew on various edible and inedible objects; the habit helps keep the squirrel's teeth sharp and also wears them down (many rodents' teeth grow continuously). Homeowners in areas with a heavy squirrel population must keep attics and basements carefully sealed to prevent property damage caused by nesting squirrels. Some homeowners resort to more humane ways of dealing with this, such as collecting and planting fur from pets (e.g domestic cats and dogs) in attics. This fur will indicate to nesting squirrels that a potential predator roams and will encourage evacuation. Fake owls and scarecrows are generally ignored by the animals, and the best way to prevent chewing on an object is to coat it with something to make it undesirable: for instance a soft cloth or chile pepper paste or powder. Squirrel trapping is also practiced to remove them from residential areas.

Squirrels can be trained to be hand-fed. Because they are able to cache surplus food, they will take as much food as you put out. If a person starts to feed one, that squirrel will come back day after day to get its food. Squirrels living in parks and campuses in cities have learned long ago that humans are typically a ready source of food. Hand feeding is not recommended, however, because squirrels may carry plague or other animal-borne diseases. Even if they do not carry disease, they often have a hard time telling fingertips from food, and bites are painful.

Squirrels are often the cause of electricity outages. The animals will enter transformers or capacitors looking for food. The squirrels are then electrocuted and cause a power surge that shorts equipment. Squirrels have brought down the high-tech NASDAQ stock market twice, and were responsible for a spate of power outages at the University of Alabama ^*. They will often chew on tree branches to sharpen their teeth, but cannot tell the difference between a tree branch and a live power line. Rubber plates are sometimes used to prevent access to these facilities.

Squirrels as Food

Squirrel meat, until recent times, was considered a favored meat in certain regions of the United States where it can be listed as wild game. This is evidenced by extensive recipes for its preparation found in cookbooks including the Joy of Cooking. Squirrel meat can easily be exchanged for rabbit or chicken in recipes with its light red or pink flesh which has only a slight game taste.

Popular-culture references

Despite periodic complaints about the animal as a pest, general public opinion towards the animal is favorable, thanks to its appearance and movement, and its habit of gathering and storing nuts. Squirrels are popular characters in cartoons and children's books, such as the works of Beatrix Potter. A less typical fictional squirrel is Secret Squirrel. A cartoon squirrel named Tammy was a memorable one-shot character on the Disney Afternoon's Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers. Marvel Comics has a heroine called Squirrel Girl. In the webcomic El Goonish Shive, one of the lead characters, Grace Sciuridae (originally known by the code-name 'Shade Tail'), has the ability to shapeshift into either a normal-sized squirrel or a half-squirrel furry form (the latter being her natural form), among others. Some others are used in internet cartoons for added humor, such as Foamy the Squirrel.

Albino squirrels are thought by some to be a source of good luck. Olney, Illinois, is home of the world's largest known albino-squirrel colony. The Albino Squirrel Preservation Society was founded in 2001 at the University of North Texas to celebrate the proliferation of white and albino squirrels on campus. There are eight college chapters of the ASPS across the United States, Canada, and England.

The word squirrelled, meaning to have hidden items away, is arguably the longest one-syllable word in the English language, with eleven letters. However, this is true only in certain dialects of American English; in many American English and all British English accents, it has two syllables.

Squirrels are often referred to as "tree rats" or "harveys" by people who dislike them and consider them pests. The word "Squirrel" is sometimes used to describe someone who is a 'goof' or 'clown' (i.e., he is a squirrel or is squirrely). The word "squirrely" also means "unpredictable", "shakey", or "a bit hard to control", when used in conjunction with the controls or handling of machinery.

In the Uplift series by David Brin, the Urs colonists of Jijo use the term 'skirrl' (a mispronounced form of the Anglic word 'squirrel') as an insulting term for humans (being 'silly tree-climbing animals from Terra').

In the children's novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the spoiled brat Veruca Salt was thrown down the garbage chute by a mob of walnut-shelling squirrels. Dozens of live squirrels were trained to handle nuts and attack for the book’s 2005 film adaptation.

Popular Country Music parody artist Cletus T. Judd has a song entitled "Goodbye, Squirrel" (a parody of the Dixie Chicks' "Goodbye Earl"), involving a squirrel who causes a deer hunter to fall out of his deer stand (the hunter and his friend then wage an unsuccessful war, trying to kill the squirrel).

Conker the squirrel is a popular squirrel in the video game world. He is the main character of Conker's Bad Fur Day for the Nintendo 64 and Microsoft Xbox, and also makes appearances in many other games.

In the film Almost Heroes, one of the travelers (played by Steven Porter) spots an animal (a squirrel) and everyone minus Lesile Edwards (Matthew Perry) and Bartholomew Hunt (Chris Farley) began to shoot at it. Bart then tells them to hold their fire and sees that it's just a squirrel. Then the same traveler who spotted the squirrel first shouts that there was "somethin' in his hand" and they all resume shooting at it.

Squirrels are very common characters in Brian Jacques's book series, Redwall.

M. I. McAllister's Mistmantle Cronicles
Over The Hedge and Hoodwinked both involve hyperactive Squirrels

One of the characters in "Ice Age 2" (2006) by Twentieth Century Fox Studios is a squirrel named "Scrat."

Trivia

At Kent State University, in Ohio, the black squirrel is a pop-culture symbol and icon. It is the unofficial mascot of the school. The legend suggests that all the black squirrels originated in 1961 from 10 original squirrels that were transported to the campus from northern Canada. There has been an annual Black Squirrel Festival since 1981.

Black Squirrels are also a popular rumor and sighting at the University of Maryland, College Park. Although rare they have been sighted and small studies have been conducted to find out why they're there. It's also a joke that you can join a club most commonly on facebook if you've sighted one.

A French cartoon "Black Oublette" stars a squirrel called "Adam" and he quests to find his lost cat.

In some areas of the United States, squirrels are still hunted for food.

The squirrel is the mascot for the sorority Alpha Gamma Delta.

A squirrel ran onto the pitch during Arsenal's UEFA Champions League semi-final against Villarreal on April 19th, 2006. ^*

Andorra featured a Red Squirrel on the reverse of a 1992 10 Diner Proof Silver Crown with a mintage of 15,000 as part of its wildlife series.

The United States Postal Service (USPS) featured a Red Squirrel on a 29¢ self-adhesive stamp issued in 1993.

The Three-Striped Palm Squirrel (Funambulus Palmarum) has three distinct stripes on its back. As per the Hindu epic, Ramayana, the squirrel got these stripes when Lord Rama patted a squirrel's back with affection as it shared its nuts with Lord Rama when he was in exile.

Vair is a fur coat of arms design which originated from squirrels.

Reference

Davidson, Alan. Oxford Companion to Food (1999), "Squirrel". p.750 ISBN 0192115790

External links

Rodents | Squirrels

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