Squirrels have flexible limbs and agile movements. It looks so cute! A pair of piercing small eyes are embedded in the delicate little face. His taupe hair was as smooth as oil.A big fluffy tail is always upturned, which is extraordinarily beautiful.

The origin of the squirrel.

The most primitive squirrels lived in North America and looked similar to today's flying squirrels. Fossils of a series of squirrel-like species, distinct from others, have also been found in late Eocene strata in North America.

The extraordinary abundance of squirrel fossils in North America suggests that the squirrel family originated in North America during the Eocene and radiated to all continents except Oceania in the long years that followed.

Characteristics of squirrels.

Body type.

Squirrels are typical animals in cold temperate coniferous and mixed forests.

The squirrel is agile and light in body. Some are medium in size, with a body length of 18-28 cm, a tail length of 15-24 cm, and a weight of 300-400 grams. Some are small in size.

Most squirrels are typically small arboreal animals, slender in size, appearing exceptionally petite under their long, soft, bushy fur. Females are slightly heavier than males.

Teeth.

Squirrels have 5 molars in the upper jaw and 4 molars in the lower jaw, with different numbers of molars in the upper and lower jaws.

Cheek pouch.

Chipmunks and squirrels have cheek pouches on the inside of their cheeks that store large amounts of food.

Habits of squirrels.

Food habits.

Squirrels like to be vegetarian and eat meat occasionally. The vegetarian diet consists mainly of dried fruits and seeds of red pine, spruce, fir, larch, plane trees, hazelnuts and acorns. Meat food is mainly insects, larvae, ant eggs and other food.

Squirrels spend 70 to 80 percent of their time foraging activities and tend to forage and store food in taiga.

Reproductive habit.

Squirrels are mostly in estrus in spring and summer, and the estrus period is about two weeks. The breeding age of squirrels is 8 to 9 weeks for females and 9 to 10 weeks for males.

The gestation time is about 35 to 40 days, and about 3 babies can be produced each year, and 4 to 6 babies can be produced each time.

Community behavior.

Squirrels live alone most of the time. Community structure is based on the order of dominance between the same sex and between the two sexes.

Migration and Diffusion.

Squirrels have no apparent migration, but have short-distance dispersal behavior, including dispersal from overwintering grounds and dispersal from birthplaces.

Many people also want to raise their own squirrels. After all, it is a blessing to face such a cute animal every day.