The red squirrel or Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) is a species of tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus common throughout Eurasia. The red squirrel is an arboreal, omnivorous rodent. The coat of the red squirrel varies in colour with time of year and location. There are several different coat colour morphs ranging from black to red. Red coats are most common in Great Britain; in other parts of Europe and Asia different coat colours co-exist within populations, much like hair colour in some human populations.
Ten Facts about Red Squirrel
- The red squirrel has a typical head-and-body length of 19 to 23 cm (7.5 to 9 in), a tail length of 15 to 20 cm (5.9 to 7.9 in) and a mass of 250 to 340 g (8.8 to 12 oz).
- Mating can occur in late winter during February and March and in summer between June and July.
- Each litter usually contains three or four young although as many as six may be born.
- Gestation is about 38 to 39 days.
- Individuals may reach 7 years of age, and 10 in captivity.
- Omnivore. Fruit, nuts, seeds, buds, fungi, bark, pinecones, insects, eggs, young birds, mice, other small animals, and sometimes shed antlers. They eat just about anything.
- Predators, Mostly marten, owls, and hawks. In populated areas, house cats are a threat, too.
- Forest dwellers, they can be found in deciduous, coniferous, and mixed forests in much of Canada and northern parts of the United States.
- The young are looked after by the mother alone and are born helpless, blind and deaf and weigh between 10 and 15 g.
- weaning occurs at 8 to 10 weeks.
