Beyond the bright eyes and bushy tails
A closer look at a charismatic mammal family that has conquered the globe
THE SUPER SQUIRRELS BBC TWO, CATCH UP ON IPLAYER
This gentle new film for BBC Two’s Natural World series is an enjoyable celebration of everything squirrel, offering a closer look at one of our best-known animal families. Some 280 species exist across the globe, from the loved-and-loathed East American grey that bounces through our gardens to the exotic Malabar giant of southern India.
“Squirrels are ubiquitous creatures and are incredibly popular – everyone can relate to their ‘cheekiness’,” says producer-director Tom Jarvis. “This film pays homage to that, yet also digs deeper to uncover the latest discoveries and science.”
As it turns out, squirrels have an array of handy problem-solving tricks up their sleeves, which partly explains their success (our native reds being an obvious exception). Studies have suggested, for instance, that fox squirrels in California literally enlarge their brains in autumn to help them remember exactly where they’re going to scatterhoard those 10,000 (yes, 10,000) nuts; Arctic ground squirrels in Alaska periodically shiver when hibernating to generate temporary warmth; and ground squirrels in the grasslands of western America slowly wave their blood-pumped tails when in the presence of rattlesnakes to fool these heat-detecting predators into mistaking them for larger prey.
Not to mention, of course, that showstopping agility – here, as you’d expect from any decent squirrel film, put to the test with an elaborate obstacle course. “Squirrels are very surprising – they live in complicated societies, have exceptional memory and recognition skills and are even teaching us about the biomechanics of jumping,” says Tom. “They are superstars.”