Facts about Squirrels

1. 09

   Many squirrel species are known as scatter hoarders, burying thousands of individual food caches spread across a wide territory rather than storing food in one central location.

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2. 08

   Red squirrels can run at speeds up to 20 miles per hour when escaping predators, using their fluffy tail as a rudder to navigate sharp turns through tree branches.

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3. 07

   Squirrels have 20 teeth total, with four continuously growing incisors that can grow up to 6 inches per year if not worn down by chewing.

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4. 06

   During winter hibernation, ground squirrels lower their body temperature from 98 degrees Fahrenheit to as low as 32 degrees, entering torpor for extended periods to conserve energy.

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5. 05

   Squirrels' eyes are positioned on the sides of their heads, providing nearly 360-degree vision that allows them to detect predators while foraging without turning around.

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6. 04

   The brain of a squirrel expands by approximately 30 percent each autumn to enhance spatial memory capacity for locating buried food caches during winter months.

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7. 03

   Flying squirrels can glide up to 150 feet between trees by stretching a furry membrane called a patagium that extends from their wrists to their ankles.

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8. 02

   Eastern gray squirrels can accurately remember the locations of thousands of nuts they buried, using spatial memory and visual landmarks to retrieve cached food months later.

   SquirrelsMay 14sharecognitionbehaviormemory
9. 01

   A squirrel's teeth never stop growing throughout its entire lifetime, requiring constant gnawing to maintain them at functional length.

   SquirrelsMay 13sharebiologyanatomy