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Eastern gray squirrels are crepuscular, [24] or more active during the early and late hours of the day, and tend to avoid the heat in the middle of a summer day. [40] They do not hibernate. [41] Eastern gray squirrels can breed twice a year, but younger and less experienced mothers normally have a single litter per year in the spring.
Squirrels, being primarily herbivores, eat a wide variety of plants, as well as nuts, seeds, conifer cones, fruits, fungi, and green vegetation. Some squirrels, however, also consume meat, especially when faced with hunger. [21] [32] Squirrels have been known to eat small birds, young snakes, and smaller rodents, as well as bird eggs and insects.
Although a female has the capability to breed throughout the year, less than 10% reproduce more than one litter in a year. The South African ground squirrel does not hibernate. These squirrels are very social and live in groups with about 1 to 3 females and 2 to 3 males. Sometimes, the number of males can exceed up to 9 with some sub-adult females.
Both in the wild and in captivity, they can produce two litters of young each year (with 2–7 young per litter). The gestation period is approximately 40 days. Young are born without fur or any capabilities of their own. Their ears open at 2 to 6 days old, and fur grows in by 7 days. Their eyes do not open until they are 24–30 days old.
Can squirrels be kept from trashing L.A.'s backyard bird feeders and fruit trees? Here's my battle to find out what works, what doesn't and why.
The western gray squirrel (Sciurus griseus) is a tree squirrel found along the western coast of the United States and Mexico. In some places, this species has also been known as the silver-gray squirrel, the California gray squirrel, the Oregon gray squirrel, the Columbian gray squirrel and the banner-tail.
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. [17] The squirrel on a tree. Excess food is put into caches called "middens", either buried or in nooks or holes in trees, and eaten when food is scarce. [18]
The males and females are not sexually dimorphic and can be difficult to distinguish in the wild. [5] Southern fox squirrels have a wide variety of color morphs and have been considered to have the widest variety of coloring among the tree squirrels. [4] Their most prominent feature is their white ears and white nose band.