“Squirrel, squirrel, tell me. What do you think about in silence?
Perhaps you forgot where you buried the nut in the fall? ... "
The fabulously beautiful squirrel from the detachment of red-colored rodents has been known to each of us since childhood. Great amount poems dedicated to her, she is the heroine of many folk tales, riddles are made about her and songs are sung.
It is difficult to say when and where this real love human to squirrel. It is only known that all this has been going on for a long time and nothing has changed in our time. These playful and surprisingly fast animals are admired by everyone from young to old in parks, where they boldly jump from branch to branch in search of food and new sensations.
This beautiful animal is difficult to confuse with anyone. The squirrel is small. The length of her body usually reaches from 20 to 40 cm, and her weight is up to 1 kg. Her chic fluffy tail has the length of the body. The ears of the squirrel are small, in the form of brushes. The coat color is dominated by red, but closer to winter, gray and white tones are added.
In summer, the coat is short and coarse, and in winter it becomes soft and fluffy. Closer to the North you can see completely black squirrels. Animals can jump at a distance of 4 to 10 meters. At the same time, their large and fluffy tail serves as a rudder for them, helps to correct movements when jumping.
Features and habitat of squirrels
These wonderful animals live everywhere except. For them, the main thing is that there are groves, dense forests, dense parks. For some reason, squirrels bypass too sunny places. At the expense of housing, this animal is very thoughtful.
They either arrange a house in the hollows of trees, or build a nest on a tree near the trunk, worrying in advance that the dwelling is protected from difficult weather conditions.
Twig twigs, moss, an old bird's nest are Construction Materials for squirrel nests. In order to fasten all this together, clay and earth most often serve them.
Distinctive feature in their nest there are two exits, the main one - the main one and the spare one, as a strategic exit during a possible danger. This fact indicates that what squirrel animal She is friendly but not that trusting.
The nature and lifestyle of squirrels
squirrel animal who are considered very smart. And not only the double exit is proof of this. They prepare for the winter ahead of time, while storing food for themselves. They mostly bury nuts in the ground near their homes or simply hide them in a hollow.
Many scientists are inclined to think that due to the fact that the squirrels' memory is not very good, trees grow out of the many hidden nuts that squirrels sometimes forget about.
They may dig up a newly planted plant in the hope that it will be possible to extract seeds from under the ground. They can move in without hesitation and fear in the attic. They easily make contact with a person if they see food in his hands and can take it endlessly, hiding it in a hollow.
Squirrels that live in city parks have long learned one truth for themselves, that a person is a source of food for them. But hand-feeding them is undesirable. Often they can get sick with plague or other diseases that can harm human health. Even if there is no disease, the squirrel can simply bite very painfully. They skillfully and skillfully crack nuts. It's a pleasure to watch this.
Besides that squirrel useful animal it can cause some harm to a person. Their teeth are very strong and a squirrel can gnaw anything with them. If they live near a human dwelling, this may be complete disaster.
In order for the squirrels not to harm in the basement or on the mountain and not to spoil the property in those places, it is advisable to put animal skins. Scarecrows don't help. The smell of the animal emanates from the skin and the squirrel is somewhat repellent.
Even in severe frosts, they do not leave their home. It happens that they gather in one hollow of three or four animals, close the entrance with moss and warm themselves, thus escaping from severe frosts.
Although they have a warm coat, in frosts below 20 degrees they do not leave their nests. They can sleep for days at this time. And only during the thaw they come out of the hollow to collect cones and replenish their food supply.
In the case of lean seasons, squirrels move in whole streams in the direction where there is more food. Squirrel very agile and dexterous. They are prudent and careful, their nest or hollow is difficult to notice.
homemade squirrels in recent times Not unusual. They are bought at pet stores. But often small squirrels are found fallen out of the hollow and left to live at home. Anyone who decides to have this animal should remember that this is an emotional animal and is prone to stress. In such situations, the squirrel can get sick.
For home, you need to build a small aviary or put it in a cage. But from time to time it is necessary to let her run around the apartment without leaving her unattended.
This is a fairly independent animal, which at home does not quickly get used to a person. It should take a long time for the squirrel to give itself at least just to stroke.
Food
Squirrel prefers plant foods in the form of nuts, seeds, mushrooms, berries. But she also likes eggs, frogs and insects. The animal collects a lot of mushrooms, strings them on a branch next to the hollow.
Vital tone and completely life depends entirely on the availability of food. The more reserves they have and the more calories they have, the better the protein feels and the healthier it is.
Adverse weather make the squirrels eat all their food supplies. This leads to the death of the animal. For squirrels that live in parks, this is a little easier because a person always comes to the rescue.
Reproduction and lifespan of squirrels
March and April for the naughty protein comes mating season. Dozens of males crowd around one female, trying to win her favor. There are often fights. The female chooses the strongest and from their copulation babies are born, usually there are from two to eight.
They are blind and completely helpless. Initially, for six months, squirrels feed on mother's milk. After the transition to normal feeding, the parents take turns carrying food to them.
After two weeks, the squirrels are covered with wool, and it becomes clear what color is the squirrel, and after a month they already open their eyes. After the babies are two months old, they are ready for independent living and can get their own food.
In captivity, animals also breed, but subject to proper care for them. In nature, squirrels live from two to four years. At home, their life span reaches up to fifteen years.
Sotnikova Valentina Nikolaevna - teacher-speech therapist MADOU "Center for Child Development - Kindergarten No. 33 "Rainbow" of the city of Gubkin, Belgorod Region.
The material is recommended for parents of older preschoolers.
Tell your child about protein
The squirrel is a wild, herbivorous mammal living in Russian forests, from the taiga to the southern latitudes. Tree squirrels live in Russia.
The squirrel is a wonderful, graceful, agile animal. Bulging black squirrel eyes look fervently and cheerfully. The teeth of the squirrel are large, curved, very sharp, so it easily cracks hard nuts and peels cones. Tenacious claws on the paws help her deftly grab onto branches, jump from tree to tree.
The main pride of the squirrel is its magnificent fluffy tail. When the squirrel sits, the tail covers her lower back. Having fluffed out its tail, as if opening a parachute, the squirrel easily and freely flies from branch to branch, from tree to tree and controls its tail like a steering wheel. The squirrel takes care of its tail, constantly cleans it, and in wet weather tries to hide in the nest so as not to get it wet.
Finding a secluded place in the forks of dense coniferous trees, squirrel weaves a nest from thin twigs. Deftly wielding with her front paws, like small hands, she carefully folds twig after twig, tightly pressing the rods to each other. Then the squirrel bends the ends of the rods and weaves them into a large ball with a side hole for entry. The squirrel's nest is called Gaino. Just in case, the squirrel weaves not one nest, but two or three nests, in order to transfer squirrels into them in case of danger. The squirrel covers the gaino with soft fluff, wool, bird feathers and leaves.
She likes to spend frosty days in her cozy home. Sometimes a squirrel adapts last year's nest of a magpie or a crow for its apartment, often hibernates in a deep hollow of an old tree. The squirrel loves to feast on nuts, seeds of coniferous trees - cedar, pine, spruce. The squirrel loves berries, fruits of trees and shrubs, mushrooms, buds and inflorescences. Squirrel is a very good hostess, neat and thrifty. No wonder people call her a troublemaker. At the end of summer and autumn, the squirrel stocks up. She fills her pantries with ripe nuts, mushrooms, acorns and cones. She first dries the mushrooms, stringing them on bare knots. In spring and summer, coats on squirrels are reddish-gold, by winter the fur becomes silver-gray, thick, warm. In the spring, small squirrels appear in the squirrel house. Squirrel - mother diligently looks after them, feeds, educates, teaches the mind.
Vocabulary work:
1.- Describe appearance proteins.
2.- Where does the squirrel sleep? - in a nest-gayno, a hollow tree
3.- What does a squirrel eat? - nuts, mushrooms, cone seeds.
4.- How does a squirrel prepare for winter? - changes the red coat to a warm silver-gray one. Prepares stocks: dries mushrooms, collects cones, nuts.
Learn a riddle with your child
I wear a fluffy coat
I live in a dense forest.
In a hollow on an old oak
I chew nuts
This nimble red-haired animal (known to zoologists under the species name “ordinary squirrel”) is so common in Russian open spaces that it got on the coats of arms of cities and villages. Two squirrels flaunt on the coat of arms of Zelenograd, one adorns the coat of arms of Yakutsk and a pair of squirrels is depicted on the coat of arms of the village of Yarensk ( Arhangelsk region), which until 1924 had the status of a city.
Description of the common squirrel
A rodent belonging to the family is called in Latin Sciurus vulgaris and has another half-forgotten name - veksha. Of all representatives of the genus squirrels (and these are 30 species living in Europe, Asia, South and North America) only one single species, the common squirrel, lives on the territory of Russia.
Appearance
This cute fast animal is similar to other squirrels. Veksha has a proportional slender body, which ends in an extremely fluffy, somewhat flattened tail from 13 to 19 cm (about 2/3 of the body length). The tail looks flat due to long hairs (3-6 cm), splayed in both directions.
An ordinary squirrel grows up to 19–28 cm, gaining a mass of about 250–340 g in adulthood. The animal has a rounded head with dark beady eyes and long funny ears topped with tassels sticking up (in winter they become more noticeable).
Vibrissae, which have a special sensitivity, adorn not only the muzzle, but also the front paws and abdomen. The squirrel belly, by the way, is always lighter than the top or is colored in White color. The front legs are much shorter than the hind legs. The limbs are equipped with sharp, tenacious claws.
Important! The size of the common squirrel decreases from the mountainous regions to the plains, the size of the skull also becomes smaller from south to north, and the color of the fur brightens towards the central point of the range.
By the winter cold, the common squirrel grows taller and more fluffy fur, but in the summer it changes its structure, turning into a short, hard and sparse one.
Coloring
In terms of color variability, Veksha is the undoubted leader among the numerous fauna of the vast Palearctic region: it changes the color of its coat depending on the season, subspecies, and even being within the boundaries of its population.
In summer, the squirrel outfit is designed in brown, red or dark brown tones, in winter the coat becomes gray, sometimes almost black (occasionally with a brown tint). There are also piebalds among Vekshas, whose coat is diluted with white spots, as well as specimens with completely black fur (melanists) and, conversely, with a complete absence of pigment (albinos).
The Far Eastern, Carpathian and Manchurian subspecies of the common squirrel are characterized by brown and black shades of winter wool. And teleut squirrels (the most major representatives vekshas on the territory former USSR) show silver-gray and bluish coloration in winter, as well as a pale gray (with an admixture of black and yellowish-rusty) tail.
Teleut squirrels belong to the so-called grey-tail squirrels (which is determined by the winter color of the tail). Along with them, veks are divided into "browntail", "redtail" and "blacktail".
Moult
A change of coat in a common squirrel happens, like in most animals, twice a year.. The squirrel tail has its own cycle of fur renewal: it sheds only once a year. spring molt falls, as a rule, on April - May, and autumn takes place from September to November.
As you know, the molt of all mammals is controlled by the duration daylight hours regulating the functioning of the pituitary gland. The latter produces thyrotropin, which (in turn) acts on the activity thyroid gland, which starts the molt.
It is interesting! Sexually mature males always begin to molt earlier than females and young vekshi-year-olds born in the current year. The spring change of fur goes from the head to the base of the tail, and the autumn one - from the root of the tail to the head.
The timing of molting is very variable, as it depends on the availability of food and climatic conditions. With an abundant forage base, the change of squirrel wool begins and ends earlier, in lean crops it is not only delayed, but also stretched.
Lifestyle, character
This mobile rodent does not differ in territoriality; therefore, the individual sections of the squirrel are usually not only not expressed, but often overlap one another.
Veksha leads the way tree image life, showing special cheerfulness in the morning and evening hours . It is at this time that she scours the forest in search of food, which takes 60-80% of her active time. Noticing the danger, he prefers to hide in the crown of a tree.
The squirrel easily flies from one tree to another, overcoming 3–4 m in a straight line and 10–15 m in a downward arc, using its tail as a rudder. In winter, in order not to freeze its paws, it jumps more on the tops. During the mating season, as well as in the absence of snow, it usually moves along the ground (by jumps up to 1 m).
In the most severe frosts and during the revelry of bad weather, she is able to sit incessantly in a shelter, falling into half-asleep. Only a persistent feeling of hunger can force a veksha to come out of hiding in winter.
Where does the squirrel live
Whatever the squirrel house, it will always be located on a tree. AT deciduous forest The squirrel likes to settle in hollows, stuffing them with tree lichens, grass and dry leaves.
AT coniferous forest she usually builds nests (25–30 cm in diameter), placing them at a height of 7–15 m among dense branches. Veksha gives the shape of a ball to such a nest, called a gain, lining it inside with leaves, hairs, moss and grass.
It is interesting! In order not to bother with building a nest, the squirrel occupies a birdhouse. Males do not bother building their own nest, but settle in housing left by females or in empty nests of magpies, thrushes and crows.
Information about large-scale migrations of squirrels can be found in old Russian chronicles.
Migrations occur at the end of summer - the beginning of autumn, and the motivating factor is often Forest fires and drought, but more often a meager harvest of staple squirrel food, nuts or conifer seeds.
Long-distance and long migrations of 250–300 km are rare: as a rule, squirrels move over more modest distances to the neighboring forest area.
When migrating, the rodents jump singly, but form a wide front (approximately 100–300 km), without straying into flocks and large groups. Mass character is noted only in front of natural obstacles.
During migrations, the squirrel crosses many natural areas and barriers, including:
- steppe;
- tundra and forest tundra;
- islands;
- sea bays and rivers;
- Mountain peaks;
- settlements.
Migration is always accompanied by the death of squirrels that drown, freeze, die of exhaustion and fall into the teeth of predators.
Along with mass migrations, seasonal ones are observed, which are associated with the transition of young animals to an independent life, as well as with the gradual maturation of feed. Seasonal migrations with lack of fodder are transformed into migrations.
The dispersal of young veksha occurs in August/September and October/November, when they move 70–350 km from their native nests.
True, some of the mature squirrels remain in place. They only change the composition of the diet, switching to low-calorie vegetation with high concentration fiber:
- lichens;
- kidneys;
- bark of young shoots;
- needles.
It is this group of rodents that becomes the basis for the restoration of the local squirrel population.
Lifespan
In nature, the common squirrel is measured very short term life: an individual older than 4 years is considered old. Such "long-livers" in the population make up no more than 10%. But in captivity (without enemies and with good food) veksha lives up to 10–12 years.
Range, habitats
The common squirrel (represented by 40 subspecies) has chosen the boreal zone of the Eurasian continent from the shores of the Atlantic to Kamchatka, Sakhalin and about. Hokkaido.
The animal filled Siberia, Far East and European part Russia. The first squirrels entered Kamchatka around 1923–24. Veksha even adapted to life in the Tien Shan, and in the Caucasus and Crimea, she settled into cultural landscapes (vineyards and orchards).
The squirrel, as a typical forest inhabitant, prefers mixed coniferous-deciduous forests with an abundant forage base (tree seeds).
In addition, the animal willingly settles in plantations such as:
- cedar forests;
- thickets of cedar elfin;
- spruce forests;
- larch forests;
- fir forests;
- mixed pine forests.
It is noticed that the density of the squirrel population decreases to those northern regions, where pine and larch woodlands predominate.
Nutrition of an ordinary squirrel
The gastronomic interests of veksha are extensive (over 130 items), but the main food is coniferous seeds, including common pine, spruce, Siberian cedar, larch and fir. In the southern regions, where there are many oak forests(with thickets of hazel), willingly gnaws hazelnuts and acorns.
With a crop failure of the main feed, the protein passes to the buds and shoots of trees, rhizomes and tubers, lichens, berries, herbaceous plants and mushrooms (preferring deer truffle).
With a lack of food, the protein turns into a pest, eating the flower buds of fir trees. During love games, it often switches to animal food - insects with larvae, chicks, eggs and small vertebrates.
The squirrel is prudent and stocks up for the winter with nuts, acorns and cones, stuffing hollows with them or burying them between the roots. In addition, she dries the mushrooms by hanging them among the branches. Veksha has a short memory: she forgets about her storehouses and stumbles upon them by accident.
It is interesting! Others use squirrel "sclerosis" forest dwellers(bears, rodents and birds), eating up her "canned food". However, the veksha pays them in kind, finding supplies made by mice, chipmunks and nutcrackers under a 1.5 m layer of snow.
Coming out of wintering, the squirrel does not shun the bones of dead animals and visits salt licks. Daily rate food varies depending on the season: in spring, during the breeding season, the squirrel eats up to 80 g, in winter - no more than 35 g.
The squirrel is a wild animal known to all of us since childhood.
This cute little one lives in Europe, America, in the north of Asia, in the Crimea and Transcaucasia. Prefers to live in the forests.
Their body is slender, the paws are elongated and, of course, a fluffy tail, the size of which is equal to the size of the body.
Body length from 20 to 40 cm (depending on the species). The animal weighs no more than a kilogram.
The ears are small with tassels at the end (the tassels are especially pronounced in winter, in summer they are almost invisible).
The tail has a responsible function, it is the steering wheel, so to speak. When jumping or falling, with the help of a tail, a squirrel can change direction. The animal can jump up to 4 meters. When jumping, the animal seems weightless, grace, and nothing more!Of course, it is great for climbing trees.
squirrel photo
At the squirrel sharp teeth, which quickly wear down, as they gnaw something all the time. But it does not matter, new teeth will grow quickly. Rodent teeth grow throughout their lives. Well developed. When in danger, it makes a piercing sound, warning other relatives of the danger.
Her fur coat is red in summer, and gray in winter, to a bluish tint. In summer, the coat is coarse and short, but in winter it is fluffy and soft. The Far Eastern and Carpathian squirrels have black or dark brown “clothes”. In such squirrels, molting does not occur. Animals live in hollows, where they arrange a cozy nest of branches, leaves and soft moss.
feed on plant food(nuts, seeds, mushrooms and berries), but they will not refuse eggs, insects and frogs. They love mushrooms and berries, one squirrel can collect 2 thousand eggs over the summer. mushrooms. Mushrooms puts on the branches of trees. Collecting nuts for the winter in reserve, the squirrel hides them in the ground, in hollows. He can forget about provisions in the ground, and then a tree grows. What are the benefits of forestry.
Winters are cold, so to keep warm, several squirrels sleep in one hollow. They close the entrance with moss, it turns out warm, and the temperature difference between the street and the house can be 40 degrees. AT very coldy The animals do not leave their homes.
squirrels with squirrels photo
The female's pregnancy lasts about 5 weeks. Naked and blind squirrels are born into the world. Usually they are from 3 to 10 babies. They are cold all the time, my mother is forced to warm them. But you have to get food. Leaving the nest, the mother hides them in a soft bedding. At the age of two weeks they become covered with wool, at four weeks their eyes open.
squirrels photo
For six months, squirrels eat delicious mother's milk. At first, the babies sit quietly in the nest, they are afraid of heights. But already in two months they rush and jump on the branches of trees. At the same time, they begin an independent life. Twice a year the squirrel brings offspring - in April and June.
One winter, my mother and I were walking in the winter park. And then I noticed that someone was moving on the thick trunk of an old tree. I looked over there and saw a squirrel! She held on to the trunk, firmly clinging to the bark with her claws on her paws.
At first glance, it was clear that the squirrel's fur is very thick and fluffy. I was not surprised at this, because it was winter, and by winter the animals grow warm fur coats. Three colors were combined in the fur coat of the animal: red-red, ash-gray and white. The back and head of the squirrel were red, the sides were gray, and the abdomen was white.
The squirrel, without blinking, looked at us with its shiny black eyes. They reminded me of coals. The ears on the small head of the animal looked up. I noticed funny tassels on them. In the lessons at school, we were told that tassels grow on the ears of squirrels just in time for winter, and in summer they are not there.
But the most luxurious in a squirrel winter outfit was, of course, her fluffy furry tail! After all, he even replaces the squirrel's parachute when it jumps through the trees! I noticed that the tail of the animal was gray with a reddish color. It seemed to me very large, even more than the squirrel itself!
Here the squirrel, quickly turning over with its strong tenacious paws, instantly climbed up the tree trunk. The little climber disappeared behind the branches in the blink of an eye, and I lost sight of her. I remember her as a real fluffy beauty!
Loading...
