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American red squirrel - TAMIASCIURUS HUDSONICUS
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Squirrel": "Squirrel" comes from the Middle English word
"squyrel," which came from the Greek "skiouros" for the animal.
Notice that the family name for these animals is "Sciuridae," which
may also be the derivation of our word "scurry."
Location: Northern United States and Canada.
Habitat: Terrestrial. Coniferous woodlands.
Description: The coat usually has a reddish hue on the back, while the underside of the body is whitish. Black stripes are usually evident on each side where the darker color meets the paler color. The ears, which are larger than in most tree squirrels, have a tuft of hair in winter. This squirrel is only about eight inches long, with another five inches for the tail. It weighs about half a pound.
Behavior: The diet of this species is based mainly on pine seeds, but also includes apples, nuts, and grain. It is an arboreal creature and is active by day. Its scolding chatter is a common sound in northern woods.
Reproduction: It mates in March and April and gestation lasts about five weeks. A secondary mating period may occur in August or September. The female then gives birth to two to six young young in a nest made in the hollow of a tree trunk or in the fork of some branches. The young are born blind and hairless and open their eyes when they are 2 to 3 weeks old.
Go to the Rodents Page to learn more about all the gnawing animals.
Or go to the Squirrel Index to study other
squirrels.
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