Know Your Animals # 12 - SQUIRRELS

animalcentral (53)in #animalcentral • 7 years ago (edited)

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Hello Animal Lovers!

Here's today's dose of the hairy and the furry.

Sciuridae, more commonly known as SQUIRRELS are little cute creatures that are found all around us in the wilderness of forests and gardens and they make for a lovely sight. Their fur is bright and attractive, their pace is quick and adorable and they make for an interesting creation of nature to behold.

Squirrels are famous for their bushy tails and are known to be kept as pets as well. They have large beady eyes and hence have very good vision.

Are you aware that SQUIRRELS store nuts in preparation for winter. Pretty cool, right? Read on the find out more...

Here are 10 interesting facts that you may or may not know about SQUIRRELS:

1.

This is a grossly weird yet surprisingly true facts. Baby quirrels pee and poop in the mouth of their mothers. Yes, you read that right! This is done so that the mother can safely deposit the waste some place outside the nest and not allow predators to discover them by the scent.

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2.

The nest of a SQUIRREL is referred to as a drey.

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3.

The young ones of squirrels, which are called kits or pups, are toothless, blind and naked during birth.

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4.

SQUIRRELS have their own parachute. Well, not literally! Their long and bushy tails are often used by them during a fall or jump as a parachute and also for balancing their bodies.

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5.

Squirrels are differently toed, i.e the back feet contain five toes while the front feet contain only four. They use these toes for grasping purposes and they are very sharp.

6.

Squirrels, like most rodents, possess teeth than never stop growing. So they need to keep biting and chewing away to keep that growth manageable.

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7.

SQUIRRELS have such a great sense of smell that they can practically smell and find food buried even under a foot of snow. That's makes it pretty difficult to hide food from these adorable critters...

8.

Not only do squirrels have fantastic vision, their peripheral vision is awesome as well. The position of their eyes allows them to see even what's behind them.

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9.

Do you think falling from heights can hurt these furry animals? Well, the answer will surprise you as squirrels are pretty invincible. Even after jumping from a height of 30 meters, these creatures can land safely.

10.

Squirrels are famous for being acrobatic animals, and deservedly so. Squirrels can jump a whopping ten times the length of their body.

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Bonus Facts!

a. The greek meaning of the world squirrel is "Shadow Tail".
b. There are nearly 280 species of squirrels found across the world.
c. January 21 is celebrated as National Squirrel Appreciation Day!
d. Squirrels are often found running in zigzag manner to escape predators.