What Squirrels Have in Common
Squirrels around the world have a few things in common. Perhaps the most common trait is a love for nuts and seeds and an affinity for foraging … and hoarding food. The smallest species of squirrel is the African pygmy, which is just 5 inches. While the Indian giant squirrel can reach the remarkable total length of 3 feet! That's quite large when you consider the squirrels we are used to seeing in Bowmanville average 30 centimetres. Mostly all squirrels are omnivorous and sport short legs with bushy tails. Their four front teeth grow continuously which makes it necessary for them to tame these chompers by chewing on tree barks and other material.A Closer Look at the Three Main Squirrel Groups
Tree Squirrels Tree squirrels include the red, fox and gray squirrels. They frequent heavily forested areas and man-made habitats such as parks and nature preserves. Their acrobatics often catch the eye as they leap from branch to branch. From time to time, tree squirrels descend to the ground, usually in search of food. Flying Squirrels Flying squirrels, which include the southern flying squirrel, the Japanese giant flying squirrel, the new world flying squirrel and the Japanese dwarf flying squirrel, have flaps of skin along the sides of their torsos that expand as they stretch their feet out to soar. Technically, they don’t really fly-instead they glide after propelling their bodies from one launch point to another. They can cover distances as wide as 150 feet but must land at that point and relaunch to continue gliding. These squirrels are also nocturnal, which means that unlike the other two squirrel groups, you won’t really see tree squirrels up and about during the day.