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Red Squirrels
Habits

Red Squirrels lead solitary lives, and each defends a territory of between 2 and 5 acres from others of the same species and from gray squirrels.

Despite its smaller size, red squirrels are much more aggressive than grays and will chase the larger gray out of its territory.

They do not hibernate but remain active all year, although they may remain sheltered in one spot for a few days during harsh weather.

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Squirrel Proof Feeders or Squirrel Feeders

Description

red squirrel The red squirrel is about half the size of the gray, measuring about 12 inches in length (nose to tail-tip) and weighing about 5 1/2 ounces.

In summer its fur is a rusty, reddish-brown turning slightly grayer in winter, and the underside is white.

In summer, a black stripe is pronounced along its sides, separating the white underside from the reddish, upper body. Both males and females are about equal in size.

Mating Breeding Habits

Red squirrels have two breeding seasons, March to May and July to September. Litters of 3 to 6 hairless young are born after a 40-day gestation.

Designed for Squirrels
Roosting and Nesting
The young develop slowly and may remain with the female throughout the summer.

The nesting habits are similar to the Grays, although they prefer nesting in conifers.

The nest is constructed of shredded bark from a grapevine and located in a hollow or fallen tree, a hole in the ground, a hummock, or a tree crotch. Sometimes red squirrels nest in holes at the base of trees.

Feeding Habits

Unlike grays, red squirrels store most of their food in a central spot in their territory, This cache of nuts and cones may be in an underground chamber, brush pile, or hollow log.

Red squirrels are also known to tap sugar maple trees to harvest the sugar in the sap.

They actually bite into the tree trunk to puncture the sap-carrying "vessel" (xylem), leave the tree to allow time for the water in the sap to evaporate, and come back to harvest the syrup remaining on the trunk and branches.


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