The red squirrel or Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) is a species of tree squirrel common throughout Eurasia. The red squirrel is an arboreal, omnivorous rodent.
In Great Britain, Italy and Ireland, numbers have decreased drastically in recent years. This decline is associated with the introduction by humans of the eastern grey squirrel from North America and habitat loss. Due to this, without conservation the species could be extirpated from Britain by 2030.
The red squirrel has a typical head-and-body length of 19 to 23 cm (7.5 to 9 in), a tail length of 15 to 20 cm (6 to 8 in), and a mass of 250 to 340 g (8.8 to 12.0 oz). Males and females are the same size, which means that the species is not sexually dimorphic. (The red squirrel is somewhat smaller than the eastern grey squirrel). The long tail helps the squirrel to balance and steer when jumping from tree to tree and running along branches, and may keep the animal warm during sleep. The red squirrel, like most tree squirrels, has sharp, curved claws to enable it to climb and descend broad tree trunks, thin branches and even house walls. Its strong hind legs enable it to leap gaps between trees. The red squirrel also has the ability to swim.
The coat of the red squirrel varies in colour with time of year and location. There are several different coat colour morphs ranging from black to red, much like hair colour in some human populations. The underside of the squirrel is always white-cream in colour. The red squirrel sheds its coat twice a year, switching from a thinner summer coat to a thicker, darker winter coat with noticeably larger ear-tufts (a prominent distinguishing feature of this species) between August and November.
Red squirrels occupy boreal, coniferous woods in northern Europe and Siberia, preferring Scots pine, Norway spruce and Siberian pine. In western and southern Europe they are found in broad-leaved woods where the mixture of tree and shrub species provides a better year round source of food. In most of the British Isles and in Italy, broad-leaved woodlands are now less suitable due to the better competitive feeding strategy of introduced grey squirrels.
Up to two litters a year per female are possible. Each litter usually contains three or four young although as many as six may be born. Gestation is about 38 to 39 days. The young are looked after by the mother alone and are born helpless, blind and deaf and weigh between 10 and 15 g. Their body is covered by hair at 21 days, their eyes and ears open after three to four weeks, and they develop all their teeth by 42 days. Juvenile red squirrels can eat solids around 40 days following birth and from that point can leave the nest on their own to find food; however, they still suckle from their mother until weaning occurs at 8 to 10 weeks.
During mating, males detect females that are in œstrus by an odor that they produce, and although there is no courtship, the male will chase the female for up to an hour prior to mating. Usually multiple males will chase a single female until the dominant male, usually the largest, mates with the female. Males and females will mate multiple times with many partners. Females must reach a minimum body mass before they enter œstrus, and heavy females on average produce more young. If food is scarce breeding may be delayed. Typically a female will produce her first litter in her second year.
Red squirrels that survive their first winter have a life expectancy of 3 years. Individuals may reach 7 years of age, and 10 in captivity. Survival is positively related to availability of autumn–winter tree seeds; on average, 75–85% of juveniles die during their first winter, and mortality is approximately 50% for winters following the first.
The red squirrel is found in both coniferous forest and temperate broadleaf woodlands. The squirrel makes a drey (nest) out of twigs in a branch-fork, forming a domed structure about 25 to 30 cm in diameter. This is lined with moss, leaves, grass and bark. Tree hollows and woodpecker holes are also used. The red squirrel is a solitary animal and is shy and reluctant to share food with others. However, outside the breeding season and particularly in winter, several red squirrels may share a drey to keep warm. Social organization is based on dominance hierarchies within and between sexes; although males are not necessarily dominant to females, the dominant animals tend to be larger and older than subordinate animals, and dominant males tend to have larger home ranges than subordinate males or females.
The red squirrel eats:
- mostly the seeds of trees, neatly stripping conifer cones to get at the seeds within.
- fungi
- nuts (especially hazelnuts but also beech and chestnuts)
- berries
- young shoots
More rarely, red squirrels may also eat bird eggs or nestlings. A Swedish study shows that out of 600 stomach contents of red squirrels examined, only 4 contained remnants of birds or eggs. Thus, red squirrels may occasionally exhibit opportunistic omnivory, similarly to other rodents.
Excess food is put into caches, either buried or in nooks or holes in trees, and eaten when food is scarce. Although the red squirrel remembers where it created caches at a better-than-chance level, its spatial memory is substantially less accurate and durable than that of grey squirrel; it therefore will often have to search for them when in need, and many caches are never found again.
Between 60% and 80% of its active period may be spent foraging and feeding. The active period for the red squirrel is in the morning and in the late afternoon and evening. It often rests in its nest in the middle of the day, avoiding the heat and the high visibility to birds of prey that are dangers during these hours. During the winter, this mid-day rest is often much more brief, or absent entirely, although harsh weather may cause the animal to stay in its nest for days at a time. No territories are claimed between the red squirrels, and the feeding areas of individuals overlap considerably.
Arboreal predators include small mammals such as the pine marten, wildcats, and the stoat, which preys on nestlings; birds, including owls and raptors such as the goshawk and buzzards, may also take the red squirrel. The red fox, cats and dogs can prey upon the red squirrel when it is on the ground. Humans influence the population size and mortality of the red squirrel by destroying or altering habitats, by causing road casualties, and by introducing non-native populations of the North American eastern grey squirrels.
The eastern grey squirrel and the red squirrel are not directly antagonistic, and violent conflict between these species is not a factor in the decline in red squirrel populations. However, the eastern grey squirrel appears to be able to decrease the red squirrel population due to several reasons:
- The eastern grey squirrel carries a disease, the squirrel parapoxvirus, that does not appear to affect their health but will often kill the red squirrel. It was revealed in 2008 that the numbers of red squirrels at Formby had declined by 80% as a result of this disease, even though the population is now recovering.
- The eastern grey squirrel can digest acorns, while the red squirrel cannot.
- When the red squirrel is put under pressure, it will not breed as often.
In UK as a whole, due to the above circumstances, the population has today diminished to 160,000 red squirrels or less (120,000 of these reside in Scotland). Outside the UK and Ireland, the impact of competition from the eastern grey squirrel has been observed in Piedmont, Italy, where two pairs escaped from captivity in 1948. A significant drop in red squirrel populations in the area has been observed since 1970, and it is feared that the eastern grey squirrel may expand into the rest of Europe.
The red squirrel is protected in most of Europe. However, in some areas it is abundant and is hunted for its fur. The population decrease in Britain is often ascribed to the introduction of the eastern grey squirrel from North America, but the loss and fragmentation of its native woodland habitat has also played a role.
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Absolutely amazing photography…you are so talented!!!
I don’t love squirrels (from a family that calls them furry rats), but these certainly ARE adorable…
Amazing photography! I love squirrels, and these are adorable.
Unfortunately this little fellow likes to nibble away at the wiring in houses. If he finds a way into basements he can cause untold damage. He will travel through the trees and hedges attacking nests. He loves to find a garden where people will leave nuts and seeds for the over wintering birds. Very clever chap. He will soon find a way in past the “Anti Squirrel” device straight to the Bird Feeder.
Great photos! And who knew they could swim?? That would be pretty cool to see!