Summary of the conversation “Squirrel in winter. Squirrel - fluffy forest tiger Squirrel in the forest in winter

The life of squirrels in nature usually occurs in forests. The animal's main source of nutrition is the seeds of tree species.

That is why the squirrel settles in places where it can easily get food for itself. The animal also loves mature coniferous plantations, which are cedar and spruce forests.

Where do squirrels spend the winter? The animals do not leave their habitual places. IN cold period they can also be found in forested areas. However, some of them move closer to humans in the hope of surviving snowstorms and cold weather with his help. These guests from the forest appear in city parks in winter. They do not come to people because of a good life. Lack of food forces them to look for richer places. That is why in difficult times winter time city parks are more suitable for them than native forested areas.

Nature's barometer

When there is no snow, squirrels are often on the ground. At the same time, they move in jumps. However, when the first signs appear bad weather the animal immediately hides in its nest. The squirrel plugs the hole in it and waits out the cold, curled up into a ball. The animal senses the approach of frost very well. They will definitely burst out if it is clear and clear sky During the daytime, the squirrel is in no hurry to leave its nest.

How do squirrels winter in extreme cold? Animals almost always hide in their nests, being in a half-asleep state. They leave them only for the feeding period.

Animal nests

How do squirrels winter? For most of the day during the cold period, the animal prefers to stay in tree hollows or in a warm large nest created by it, which is also called a gayn. In this case, the rodent's refuge is located only at high altitudes.

If the squirrel is lucky enough to occupy a hollow big tree, then she lines it with soft bedding, for which she uses dry leaves, grass or woody lichens. Animals living in the area build spherical nests from dry branches. Such a hole is also lined with moss, leaves, wool or grass. The diameter of the spherical nest can be from twenty-five to thirty centimeters. It is located, as a rule, in dense branches or in the forks of branches. At the same time, the distance of the shelter from the ground is about fifteen meters. The squirrel also likes to spend the winter in birdhouses.

In winter? The animals take care in advance to survive the cold well. If you visit the forest in the fall, you can see a nimble rodent clutching a bunch of berries or nuts in its teeth. It should be said that animals can easily determine which fruits are suitable for winter harvesting.

Squirrels hide their supplies in deep hollows. This allows them to easily find food for themselves during a hungry period.

In winter, the squirrel happily eats the seeds that it extracts from the cones of coniferous trees. If the year is fruitful, then the animal does not have problems with food, because on many spruce trees you can find entire garlands of cones. Zoological scientists have found that in order to get enough, the animal must gnaw out the seeds from three hundred and eighty pine trees or twenty-eight. The rodent can handle each of them in two to three minutes.

How do squirrels winter if there is a bad harvest? During the food shortage, when autumn supplies run out, they feed on spruce buds or thin tree branches.

If, in order to survive the hungry winter, the animals moved to a city park, then a temporary feeding trough can be made for them. It will serve as an ordinary stand. Food poured into it will help the red rodent survive.

For squirrels, it is best to put seeds and a mixture of hazelnuts, walnuts and pine nuts, as well as small amount peanuts An integral part of such a menu will be melon, pumpkin, sunflower and watermelon seeds. In this case, the components should not be salted or fried. Nuts should only be placed in the feeder in their shells.

Feeding in winter period protein, remember that crackers, chips and almonds, everything fried, salted and smoked are poison for them.

Reproduction

Squirrels are very prolific animals. Over the course of a season, a rodent living in temperate climatic zone, can produce two litters. The mating season begins in rodents in February. At this time, many traces of a restless animal appear in the snow. The front paws leave two small dots, and the hind paws leave thin elongated stripes with imprints of tenacious fingers. Exactly at mating season squirrels run a lot, play hide and seek and perform acrobatic jumps. At the same time, one female is courted simultaneously by several males, who show open aggression towards their competitors.

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You can often see squirrel tracks in loose snow: four paws are clearly imprinted on a white clearing. In front you will see prints of two larger ones - the hind paws, and behind two smaller ones - the front ones. During the jumps with which the squirrel moves, its paws are simultaneously placed in a tight pile that has the general outline of a trapezoid. Sometimes the squirrel's fluffy tail also brushes off a strip of snow, leaving its light imprint.

A squirrel trail led us to a spruce trunk. Apparently, the rodent made a good living in the green needles: all the snow is strewn with scales of cones, and here and there there are cones scattered, completely chewed by the squirrel. All that remained of the cones were the rods and the crowns of the uppermost scales. Squirrel chewing is easy to recognize.

Lots of spruce and pine cones also used by woodpeckers and crossbills. The woodpecker clamps the cone into some kind of split in the bark, into a “machine”, and hammers it, pecking out the seeds between the scales. Disheveled, with pecked scales, the cone often falls to the ground. Sometimes whole piles of such pecked cones accumulate near a tree. At first glance, you can immediately tell who was feasting on the seeds - a squirrel or a woodpecker.

Crossbills drop cones and, supporting them with their paws, extract seeds with their peculiar beaks; slightly tattered cones fall to the ground.

Mice and voles get a lot of spoils; scouring the forest floor, these rodents can feast on half-eaten seeds and abundant leftovers from the “table” of crossbills and woodpeckers.

Usually after a year bountiful harvest buds are followed by years of weak or failed harvests. So, in forests near Moscow The fir cone harvests are separated by periods of three to four years. The following spring after the harvest, squirrels often descend to the ground and pick up cones dropped by crossbills. It turns out that the crossbill leaves an average of one hundred and fifty seeds uneaten in the discarded cone, which serve as a food supply for rodents, mice and squirrels.

Sometimes you have to “read” a lot of unexpected things along the trail. One winter, while hunting, I walked along the edge of an old forest: beyond that a snow-covered field began, barns were visible, trees turned black. Suddenly I noticed the tracks of a fox; she drove a squirrel out of the forest to the edge of the forest, which had obviously run through the snow before and did not have time to turn towards the nearest tree.

Probably frightened, the squirrel rushed with huge leaps across the snow field to the barns where there were several birch trees. This plan undoubtedly killed the rodent. The fox quickly pursued the squirrel, as could be seen from the tracks. So the fox, having contrived, jumped, but missed and only by inertia buried itself in the snow, leaving a rather deep imprint on it; Not far from the barns, the predator began to overtake the squirrel again, another jump - and another miss. It’s not far to the birch tree - will the squirrel be saved? No: a red spot on the snow (traces of blood), crumpled snow (prints of the last, fatal jump) and a piece of the rodent’s gray coat spoke eloquently of something else. It's all over - the squirrel was just a little short of reaching the saving birch... Squirrel is not susceptible hibernation

: only in severe frosts does she climb into her nest - gayno - or hollow and sleep peacefully, curled up and covered with her fluffy tail.

Let's go early in the morning to study and untangle the hare's tracks.

Shrugging from the cold that has gripped us, we make our way on skis beyond the vegetable gardens, to a strip of bushes, behind which the nearby forest turns gray in the frosty haze. Skis creak on the dense snow, the frost stings your face cheerfully, the congealing steam from your breath silvers the edges of your collar.

Here is the trail of the hare - “malik”, as the hunters say. It cannot be confused with the tracks of other animals. With the usual, unhurried movement of a hare, you can clearly see how this animal puts out its hind legs almost simultaneously, while placing its front legs sequentially - one after the other. Bluish pits of footprints are visible in the pinkish snow. An experienced hunter can easily distinguish the tracks of a hare and a hare. If you compare the tracks of these hares, then the hare's paw prints are larger and lie closer to each other than those of the hare; The prints of the hind paws themselves are often more rounded and not as pointed as those of the hare. In the hare, the difference between the size of the imprint of the front and hind legs is less than in the hare, i.e. the front paws are left with the hare bigger footprint than that of a hare. If we follow the “night” tracks of a hare, when it slowly jumped over, stopped and fed, then on such a “fat” trail, as hunters say, we can see the hare’s droppings. From this droppings it is easy to recognize who we are dealing with: the hare has a more rounded droppings, without a slightly elongated tip, which is typical for the hare. It is also easy to trace what the hare was doing from the fat trail. Here he was feasting on a snow-covered cabbage patch and gnawing on a frozen stump, so he went up to a small alder grove and ate the bark of fresh dead wood: naked, without gray bark, aspen branches were white. So the hare approached the road itself, hobbled along the ruts, turned sharply to the left and with huge leaps to the side hid the continuation of the fat trail.

Then the hare “fattened” through the weeds and, when he came out of them, made another energetic jump, followed the skier’s old trail, and returned back in the same way. The hare made, as hunters say, a “double”, then a huge jump to the side, called a “discount” or “sweep”, then he went to the bushes, returned again, with one track now stretching next to the other, then again a new jump to the side , which resulted in a loop and a “discount”. After several loops, the hare made a big jump and lay down with a snow-covered bush, head towards the trail, from where the animal could wait for the enemy.

Noticing the danger, the hare quickly jumps out of its cover, snow flies out like silver dust from under its hind legs; The hare quickly flashes in the distance, accelerating its run. Look at this “rutting” track: the hare’s hind paws left prints broadly, obliquely and sequentially one after another, and even further away from them the traces of the front paws are visible; between these marks and the next pair of prints there is a large gap - the result of a jump.

Squirrel (Sciurus) is a mammal from the order of rodents, the squirrel family. This article describes this family.

Squirrel: description and photo

The common squirrel has long body, fluffy tail and long ears. Squirrel ears are large and elongated, sometimes with tufts at the end. The paws are strong, with strong and sharp claws. Thanks to their strong paws, rodents can climb trees so easily.

An adult squirrel has a large tail, which makes up 2/3 of its entire body and serves as its “rudder” in flight. She catches air currents with it and balances. Squirrels also use their tails to cover themselves when they sleep. When choosing a partner, one of the main criteria is the tail. These animals are very attentive to this part of their body; it is the squirrel’s tail that is an indicator of its health.

The size of an average squirrel is 20-31 cm. Giant squirrels are about 50 cm in size, with the length of the tail being equal to the length of the body. The smallest squirrel, the mouse, has a body length of only 6-7.5 cm.

The squirrel's coat is different in winter and summer, since this animal sheds twice a year. In winter, the fur is fluffy and dense, and in summer it is short and sparse. The color of the squirrel is not the same, it can be dark brown, almost black, red and gray with a white belly. In summer, squirrels are mostly red, and in winter their coats turn bluish-gray.

Red squirrels have brown or olive-red fur. In summer, a black longitudinal stripe appears on their sides, separating the belly and back. The fur on the tummy and around the eyes is light.

Flying squirrels have membranes of skin on the sides of their bodies, between the wrists and ankles, which allow them to glide.

Dwarf squirrels have gray or brown fur on their backs and light fur on their bellies.

Types of squirrels, names and photos

The squirrel family includes 48 genera, which consist of 280 species. Below are some members of the family:

Common flying squirrel;
White squirrel;
Mouse squirrel;
The common squirrel or wecksha is the only representative of the genus of squirrels on the territory of Russia.

The smallest is the mouse squirrel. Its length is only 6-7.5 cm, while the length of the tail reaches 5 cm.

Where does the squirrel live?

The squirrel is an animal that lives on all continents except Australia, Madagascar, the polar territories, southern South America and northwestern Africa. Squirrels live in Europe from Ireland to Scandinavia, in most of the CIS countries, in Asia Minor, partly in Syria and Iran, and in Northern China. These animals also inhabit the Northern and South America, islands of Trinidad and Tobago.
The squirrel lives in various forests: from northern to tropical. Spends most of its life in trees, excellent at climbing and jumping from branch to branch. Squirrel traces can also be found near bodies of water. These rodents also live close to humans near arable land and in parks.

What do squirrels eat?

The squirrel mainly feeds on nuts, acorns, and seeds. coniferous trees: spruce, pine, cedar, larch, fir. The animal's diet includes mushrooms and various grains. In addition to plant foods, it can feed on various beetles, frogs, lizards, and bird chicks. In case of crop failure and in early spring The squirrel eats buds on trees, lichens, berries, the bark of young shoots, rhizomes and herbaceous plants.

Squirrel in winter. How does a squirrel prepare for winter?

When a squirrel prepares for winter, it makes a lot of shelters for its supplies. She collects acorns, nuts and mushrooms, and can hide food in hollows, burrows or dig holes on her own. Many squirrels' winter reserves are stolen by other animals. And squirrels simply forget about some hiding places. The animal helps restore the forest after a fire and increases the number of new trees. It is because of the forgetfulness of squirrels that hidden nuts and seeds germinate and form new plantings. In winter, the squirrel does not sleep, having prepared a supply of food in the fall. During frosts, she sits in her hollow, half asleep. If the frost is mild, the squirrel is active: it can steal the hiding places of mice, chipmunks and nutcrackers, finding prey even under a one and a half meter layer of snow.

Squirrel in spring

Early spring is the most unfavorable time for squirrels, as during this period the animals have practically nothing to eat. The stored seeds are beginning to germinate, but new ones have not yet appeared. Therefore, squirrels can only feed on the buds on trees and gnaw on the bones of animals that died during the winter. Squirrels living near humans often visit bird feeders in the hope of finding seeds and grains there. In the spring, squirrels begin to molt, this happens in mid-late March, and molting ends at the end of May. Also in the spring, squirrels begin mating games.

Reproduction of squirrels

The squirrel chooses a partner only for the mating season, since these animals are rather solitary. These rodents are very prolific and can produce up to three litters per season. It all depends on the habitat, population density and amount of food. During the rut, 3 to 6 males gather near the female. They behave aggressively with competitors, scare the enemy with rumbling, give chases, hit branches and fight. When there is only one winner left, fertilization occurs.

The female squirrel builds a separate nest for her young. The nest for future offspring is larger and neater than the home of ordinary squirrels. It is worth noting that she builds several such nests for babies. In case of danger, she carries the cubs from place to place. Squirrel pregnancy lasts from 35 to 38 days. There can be from 1 to 10 cubs.

Baby squirrels are born without hair, blind and weighing 8 grams. Only after 2 weeks do the squirrels’ offspring acquire hairs, and they begin to see hair within a month.

Baby squirrels feed on milk for up to 50 days. After 8-10 weeks they leave the nest and set out on their own. After a year, and sometimes less, the baby squirrels become sexually mature squirrels. Approximately 70-80% of the entire squirrel population consists of young animals.

How long do squirrels live?

The squirrel lives up to a maximum of 12 years, but only in captivity. In the forest, this rodent can live up to 4 years, and even this will be very rare. The enemies of squirrels are martens and owls

It is very important to create the right conditions to contain squirrels. The squirrel is an active rodent, so you need to purchase a high enclosure about 1 meter high, about 0.5 meters long and wide. The squirrel's house should be placed in a quiet place where there are no drafts. In the enclosure you need to place a nest or birdhouse, several branches on which the squirrel will jump, planks or shelves on which the animal will sit.

For the domestic squirrel to feel good, it should be fed properly. The protein diet should include dried or fresh mushrooms, acorns, hazelnuts, pine nuts, various insects. The animal also needs cones with seeds, catkins of willow or aspen, and young birch leaves. Under no circumstances should you feed this animal food from your table.

Remember that the domestic squirrel is still the same rodent, so it needs to be given chalk or eggshells to avoid mineral deficiency.

A squirrel can be trained to eat from your hands. Since this animal is adapted to hide excess food, it will take from you as much as you offer.

It is believed that squirrels should not be given peanuts, either raw or fried, and salted seeds are also not good for them.

Over a one-week period, a squirrel can eat food weighing equal to its own body weight;
The male squirrel spends more time grooming his coat than the female. The squirrel is considered the purest rodent;
If it falls from a height of up to 30 meters, the squirrel will not receive any damage. This is due to the structure of the body and the large tail, which serves as a parachute.

Everyone knows and loves the squirrel ( Sciurus) - a charming representative of the order of rodents, the squirrel family. Lives in our area common squirrel, which is also called veksha. IN at a young age This agile, dexterous animal is trusting and quickly gets used to people.

Young common squirrel

Description of the squirrel

The squirrel family has 48 genera and 280 species. Among them there are very tiny animals. So, the body length is tiny mouse squirrel, which is found in the Congo Basin countries, no more than 7.5 cm and 5 cm of tail. We all know well common squirrel (S. vulgaris) with expressive black eyes, tufted ears and a fluffy tail. It weighs only 250 - 340 g, although it seems heavier. The length of its body is 20 - 28 cm, its fluffy tail is 20 cm.

Fur. Molting on the head, body and legs occurs twice a year, less often on the tail. Fur coloring in summer time brown-red, red. In Germany there are squirrels with black color wool By winter, hair color changes. Siberian and northern European squirrels become whitish-gray at this time. Winter fur is softer and fluffier than summer fur. Squirrels living in coniferous forests, are often darker than those who choose deciduous trees. These animals are conventionally divided into “browntail”, “graytail”, “blacktail” and “redtail”.

Habitats. The common squirrel lives in Europe, Siberia and Indochina. She loves places where trees grow and is found in forests and parks. They also see it on trees near houses.

Nest. The squirrel feels more confident in deep forests, rather than on sunny edges. There she climbs into empty hollows, where she arranges her home. If he doesn’t find any, he completes old crow’s nests or makes his own on the branches of thick branches. The nest is covered with a roof on top to protect it from rain and snow. On frosty days, she blocks the entrance with grass or moss, so the inside of her house is always dry and warm. A squirrel often has several nests. She changes them, dragging her cubs in her teeth.

The main entrance is often oriented to the east, the spare one is often located near the trunk. It is used as an emergency in case of escape. The walls of the dwelling are made of twigs, and the inside is lined with dry moss. Squirrels often settle in.

Behavior. We are surprised by the dexterity of this animal, capable of instantly climbing trees. The sharp claws on her flexible fingers help her in this. Veksha grabs the tree bark with all its paws at once, crouches down and makes a jump. In case of danger, it flies like an arrow to the top of a tree or into a nest, moving in a spiral. The fluffy tail serves as a rudder and helps balance. Especially when making long jumps from tree to tree. In addition, the tail is an excellent heating pad. On cold and frosty days, the animal curls up into a ball and covers itself with fur.

Flying squirrels are sometimes found in Siberian forests. These small forest animals have a light membrane between their front and back legs. They easily jump, as if flying from tree to tree. I only once managed to see flying squirrels in our Smolensk forests. They lived in a deep hollow of an old tree. I discovered them there by accident. (I. Sokolov-Mikitov “Squirrels”).

The squirrel can swim, although it only gets into the water when necessary. For example, during wandering in search of a satisfying place or during fires and floods. Then the animals accumulate on the shore and boldly rush into the water, trying to get to the other side, even such large rivers, like Yenisei and Lena. Many of them drown.

When crossing rivers, even sea bays, they gather in denser flocks and swim (imagine!), raising their tails. Many drown, but those who remain float. Those who have safely crossed water and other obstacles (cities, tundra) wander further at a speed of 3 - 4 kilometers per hour. They walk, rubbing their paws into blood, dying in rivers, in the teeth of oncoming and pursuing predators, and at the hands of humans. (I.A. Akimushkin “Animal World”. Volume 2).

Veksha is more active in the morning and evening, and on a sunny day a well-fed animal can rest. During rain or snowstorm, it dozes. It moves along the ground in long (up to one meter) leaps.

Food. The squirrel has an excellent appetite. The diet includes nuts, berries, mushrooms, grains, seeds and buds different plants. She feasts on seeds, which she pulls out of cones, and eats young shoots and buds. The squirrel often robs bird nests, dragging away eggs and chicks. It happens that it attacks adult birds.

All squirrels love nuts

Veksha is a thrifty animal. She arranges storerooms where she hides supplies. She needs them in winter or rainy autumn.

It is true that in the fall, on days of abundance, the squirrel hides nuts and acorns in all the cracks and hollows, and it is also true that it dries mushrooms, hanging them on branches. But does the animal remember all its storerooms? Hardly. If you follow the tracks in winter, you will be convinced that the squirrel is looking for its supplies in the same way as you would look for them: rummaging everywhere where one can assume their existence, and nearby dried mushrooms sometimes it passes without even noticing them. Be that as it may, after searching for some time, the squirrel eats its fill. (A.N. Formozov “The Pathfinder’s Companion”).

Nomadic squirrels feed hastily. Often they manage to snack only on lichen and tree bark. Animals that have survived starvation look thin and pitiful. The number of squirrels is highly dependent on the harvest and availability of food.

Reproduction. Males fight desperately to win a female. The squirrel gives birth to several blind, naked cubs. There are from three to seven, rarely more. With repeated births in June, there are fewer squirrels. The squirrel is a mammal; it feeds its young with milk. At the sixth week, the baby squirrels try to climb out of the nest, and at eleven months they become completely independent. Puberty occurs at nine to eleven months.

Squirrels often live in parks

Enemies. Squirrels have many enemies. These are not only hunters and trappers, but also animals such as marten, sable, fox and some birds: goshawk, owl and kite. They also hunt this furry animal.

A tame squirrel in the house becomes a gentle, clean animal that is pleasant to communicate with. Baby squirrels and young squirrels quickly get used to captivity. Pregnant females adapt to new living conditions within one to two weeks. It is most difficult for old animals to change their usual lifestyle.

Cell. The best option- a high, spacious enclosure with a metal mesh. For some time, a cage with a height of at least 70 cm will be suitable. It is placed in a place protected from drafts and wind. Not in the sun.

The cage must have a nest or house. You need branches and a squirrel wheel for constant movements. At first, cover the top of the enclosure or cage with a cloth or so that the squirrel feels calmer. During molting, the animal becomes less active.

Sometimes a squirrel is released from its cage to frolic in a room or apartment. Be sure to close everything and doors, remove those objects that could break or harm the furry animal. There is no need to force him into a cage. It’s better to lure the squirrel into its cage with tasty nuts or wait until it gets hungry and goes to its own house. You cannot leave a squirrel in a room unattended. It's not just about her safety, but also about many everyday inconveniences. The animal will stock up on food in the most unexpected places, gnawing, destroying and ruining everything. Of course, you need to lock the cat in another room for this time or let it out for a walk.

Squirrels can be easily trained and kept in captivity. I once had a friend, an archaeologist and book lover. In his large room lived an agile, cheerful squirrel. She brought a lot of worries and troubles to her book-loving owner. She tirelessly rushed through the bookshelves, sometimes gnawing on the bindings of expensive books. I had to put the squirrel in a wire cage with a wide rotating wheel. The squirrel ran tirelessly along this wire wheel. Squirrels need constant movement, which they are accustomed to in the forest. Without this constant movement Living in captivity, squirrels get sick and die. (I. Sokolov-Mikitov “Squirrels”).

Nutrition. The diet includes nuts (especially pine nuts and hazelnuts), acorns, raw seeds, conifer cones with seeds, edible mushrooms(fresh and dry), dried fruits, berries and fresh eggs(preferably quail). In spring, spruce branches with short young shoots (candles), birch branches with buds or fresh leaves are placed in the cage. Suitable delicacies: bugs and worms. They provide natural chalk, crushed shells and coarse table salt, but it is better to buy special mineral supplements and vitamins for squirrels.

In the forest, squirrels dry mushrooms, skillfully stringing them onto the branches of bushes and trees.
“The baby squirrels, taken out of the nest blind, when they grew up, without their mother’s advice, tried to “bury” nuts in the carpet pile!
The little squirrel, having received the first nut in his life, buried it in a secluded corner in the room. He acted like an adult squirrel. And she does this in the forest: having dug a small hole with her paws, she puts a nut in it, then, pressing with her muzzle and tapping the nut with her upper incisors, she drives it even deeper into the ground. With its paws it sprinkles earth and leaves on top and crushes them. He also “buried” a nut and a baby squirrel, but in imaginary soil and leaves, and therefore all his actions “hung” in the air, turning into an aimless pantomime” (I.A. Akimushkin “Animal World”).

Cleaning the cage. The cage is cleaned once a week, the house or nest is cleaned if necessary. The feeder is washed daily. You need to make sure that the water in the bowl or drinking bowl is always fresh and clean.

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