In honor of national squirrel day on Saturday (January 21st) I am here to share some interesting facts about squirrels and the role they play in the ecosystem. They are not just animals who run around yards stealing nuts and bird seed. Instead, squirrels help to spread seeds around through the nuts and seeds that they eat and store. Their role as seed dispersers in the ecosystem help to create greater biodiversity by dispersing the seeds of many types of plants. Not all the nuts that squirrels collect for the winter months get eaten, so many grow and develop into trees or other types of plants.
- There are over 100 species of squirrels around the world
- Squirrels inhabit almost all the continents of the world- except for Antartica
- Squirrels are easily adaptable to different environments allowing them to continue population growth with rapid urbanization occurring worldwide
- Squirrels can jump 10 times their body length
- Squirrels can fall from high areas (100 ft) and not injure themselves
- This is because when falling, squirrels will use their tails as parachutes
- During winter months, squirrels can find their buried food underneath a foot of snow
- Squirrels eat their own body weight each week
- Squirrels can run up to 20mph
- Squirrels are double-jointed and can turn their ankles 180 degrees
- This helps them efficiently move up and down trees to escape predators
- Squirrels will occasionally pretend to hide food to stop other animals from stealing their food