The North American Red Squirrel

The Forest’s Busy Acrobat

The North American Red Squirrel is a small, feisty bird-like mammal that loves to spend its time in the tops of evergreen trees. They are much smaller than the Gray Squirrels you might see in a park, but they have very big personalities! They are known for their reddish fur and their very loud, chattering voices.

RANGE

Red Squirrels live across a huge part of North America. You can find them all the way from Alaska and Canada down through the Rocky Mountains and the Eastern United States. They stay in places where the winters are cold and the trees are tall.

HABITAT

These squirrels love "coniferous" forests. That is a fancy word for forests with trees that have needles and cones, like pines and spruces. They usually build nests called "dreys" out of grass and bark high in the branches. Sometimes they even find a cozy hole in a tree trunk to stay warm.

DIET

Red Squirrels are mostly herbivores, but they will eat other things if they are hungry.

Seeds: Their favorite food is the seeds found inside pine cones.
Storage: They are famous for making "middens." These are giant piles of pine cones they save up for the winter.
Other Snacks: They also eat mushrooms, berries, and sometimes bird eggs.

SIZE & WEIGHT

The Red Squirrel is quite small. They are usually about 11 to 14 inches long, but about half of that length is just their bushy tail! They are very light and weigh about the same as a large banana. Their small size helps them run to the very tips of thin branches where larger animals cannot follow.

LIFE CYCLE

Mother squirrels usually have two litters of babies each year, once in the spring and once in the summer.

A litter usually has 3 to 5 babies.
The babies are born without fur and cannot see at first.
They grow very fast and start exploring the branches near their nest when they are only a few weeks old.

PREDATORS

Because they are small, many animals try to catch them. Hawks and owls hunt them from the sky. On the ground or in the trees, martens, foxes, and weasels are their main enemies. When a Red Squirrel sees danger, it will sit on a branch and bark or chatter loudly to tell the predator it has been spotted!

Amazing Adaptations

The Red Squirrel has some amazing tools to help it live high in the trees.

Curved Claws: They have very sharp, hooked claws that let them run straight up and down tree trunks and even hang upside down.
A Balancing Tail: Their long, bushy tail acts like a balance pole on a tightrope to help them stay steady while jumping between branches.
Super Teeth: Like all rodents, their front teeth never stop growing. This is helpful because gnawing on hard pine cones wears their teeth down every day.

Animal Talk

How Do North American Red Squirrels Communicate?

North American red squirrels are some of the noisiest little animals in the forest! They use calls, tail movements, and scent to warn intruders and communicate with other squirrels.

The Territorial Rattle: One of their most recognizable sounds is a long, rapid rattling or chattering call. Red squirrels are very territorial, and these calls help advertise, “This area is occupied!”
Buzzes & Screeches: Red squirrels have several other calls, including buzzing, chirping, and screeching sounds. Different calls may be heard when a squirrel is excited, disturbed, or interacting with another squirrel.
Tail Talk: A red squirrel may combine its noisy calls with quick tail flicks and other body movements, especially when something has caught its attention or it feels threatened.

Fun Animal Talk Fact: Red squirrels defend special food-storage areas called middens. Their loud territorial calls help warn neighboring squirrels away from these valuable piles of cones and seeds.

Respecting Wildlife

Red Squirrels are high-energy neighbors that play a very important role in helping our forests grow.

Bird Feeder Baffles: These squirrels are very clever and can jump long distances. If you want to keep them from eating all the birdseed, you can use a "squirrel baffle" (a smooth plastic dome) on your bird feeder pole. This keeps the squirrels on the ground where they can hunt for dropped seeds instead.
Attic Checkups: Red Squirrels love to find warm, dry places to sleep. To keep them from moving into your house, it is a good idea for neighbors to check their roofs and vents for small holes. Patching these up keeps the squirrels in the trees where they belong.
Sharing the Harvest: If you have nut-bearing trees like hickory or oak, you can expect the Red Squirrels to be very busy in the fall. Leaving a few fallen nuts on the ground is a kind way to help them prepare for the long, cold winter.