Bright Eyes and Bushy Tails

THERE are over 300 species of squirrels. There are both tree squirrels and ground squirrels. Tree squirrels include grey squirrels, red squirrels and flying squirrels. Ground squirrels, like chipmunks, marmots and prairie dogs, have short tails and never climb trees. The word squirrel comes from two Greek words meaning shadow tail. Indeed, desertdwelling squirrels keep their bushy tails curled over their backs like parasols. The smallest squirrel is the African pygmy squirrel which measures 13 cm from head to tip of tail. It weighs just 15 grams. The giant squirrels of Asia can be 90 cm long and weigh upto 3 kilos.

Squirrels are found all over the world except Australasia, southern South America and Madagascar. India has a number of squirrel species, including flying squirrels, giant squirrels, Himalayan squirrels and the ubiquitous threeand five-striped palm squirrels.

When defending themselves, squirrels emit a shrill bird-like call accompanied by repeated tail-thumping. They are amazingly agile, and can fall great distances, sometimes plummeting 18 metres down, without hurting themselves. The long fur on a squirrel's limbs and tail, when spread out, helps to slow down the descent. They are also able to hang upside down from branches to reach food.

A typical squirrel menu consists of fruits, nuts, young shoots, buds and the bark of trees. They are also known to eat insects, bird eggs and chicks. Squirrels are regarded as pests in commercial forest plantations because they gnaw the tree bark to get at the sweet sap underneath.

Squirrels live in tree hollows but sometimes build untidy nests of twigs called dreys. The female rears and protects her young ones without help from the male.