Red squirrel

Facts

IUCN LEAST CONCERN (LC)

Facts about this animal

The red squirrel is a medium-sized tree-dwelling squirrel. Its head -body length ranges from 20-25 cm, the tail from 15-20 cm, and the body-weight from 230-400 g. Males and females have the same size.

The fur is soft and the colour of the upper parts varies from light red to almost black. Different colour types occur within the same population, but often one colour is dominating, e.g. in Berne, most squirrels are not red, but blackish. The throat and belly are always creamy to white. The summer coat is short and there are no or only short ear tufts. The winter coat is thicker with long ear tufts. The hairs on the tail are 5 to 8 cm long.

The red squirrel is diurnal. At night it sleeps in ball-shaped nests (called drey)with a diameter of about 30 cm built from branches and lined with moss, leaves, grass and bark, in tree hollows or, to the dismay of ornithologists, nest boxes for birds. It is extremely arboreal living in coniferous, deciduous and mixed forests as well as in zoos, city parks and the gardens of suburbia. In Central Europe, red squirrels have home ranges of 2-3 ha.

Its sharp, curved claws allow the red squirrel to climb overhanging branches or to run down a tree with the head down, and its long bushy tail helps to balance when jumping from tree to tree and reduces the rate of fall.

The reproductive season begins in January or February. After a gestation period of 38 days, 2-5 cubs are born. These are naked and blind and weigh 8-10 g at birth. The eyes open at the age of 30-32 days, and the youngsters start leaving the nest at the age of 40 days.

Red squirrels feed on acorns, hazelnuts, other seeds of deciduous trees, berries, fruit, shoots, birds' eggs, mushorooms, and strips conifer cones to get at the seeds within, or occasionally may remove the bark of trees to get access to the tree sap.

Did you know?
that red squirrels do not hibernate, but will remain in their dreys for several days at a time during bad weather?

Factsheet
Class	MAMMALIA
Order	RODENTIA
Suborder	SCIUROMORPHA
Family	SCIURIDAE
Name (Scientific)	Sciurus vulgaris
Name (English)	Red squirrel
Name (French)	Ecureuil d'Europe
Name (German)	Eichhörnchen
Name (Spanish)	Ardilla roja
Local names	Croatian: Crvena vjeverica Czech: Veverka obecná Danish: Almindeligt egern Dutch: Rode eekhoorn Estonian: Orav Finnish: Orava Hungarian: Mókusfélék Italian: Scoiattolo comune Latvian: Paprastoji voveré Norwegian: Rødt ekorn Polish: Wiewiórka pospolita Portuguese: Esquilo Romansh: Stgilat Slovenian: Navadna veverica Swedish: Ekorre
CITES Status	Not listed
CMS Status	Not listed

Photo Copyright by
Markus Koljonen

Distribution

Distribution
Range	Europe and Northern Asia
Habitat	Primarily arboreal (deciduous and coniferous forests) but will descend to ground level to forage.
Wild population	Unknown and decreasing. In 1999 the density was less than 0.1 to 1.5 individuals per hectare (Red List IUCN 2011)
Zoo population	163 reported to ISIS (2006)

In the Zoo

How this animal should be transported

For air transport, Container Note 79 of the IATA Live Animals Regulations should be followed.

Find this animal on ZooLex

Photo Copyright by
Oliver Spalt

Why do zoos keep this animal

Tree squirrels are among the species which readily choose the zoo as their habitat and become habituated to humans. In its Eurasian range, there is, therefore, hardly a need for keeping squirrels in cages, except may be in the United Kingdom, where the species is threatened due to competition with introduced North American grey squirrels. All photos on this page show free-living red squirrels at Swiss zoos.

How this animal should be kept

Red squirrels are solitary animals and should be kept singly, in pairs or in small groups of compatible animals, e.g. siblings, preferably with two adjoining enclosures allowing for separating the animals as necessary.

Minimum space requirement for a cage is 8 m²x 2 m high. However, cages of this minimum size do not make good exhibits. Squirrels are better presented in larger cages, at least 4 m high, with an adjoining observation hut, where the visitors can watch the animals through a glass panel, or in an open enclosure confined by 2.5 m high walls or glass panels, possibly with a hot wire on top.

Enclosures for red squirrels must be amply furnished with branches or other climbing opportunities, and they need nest boxes for sleeping.

The diet of red squirrels consists of nuts, acorns, sunflower and other seeds, fir cones, fruit, carrots, and branches in leaf, supplemented with some animal protein. Water should be permanently available.