What do squirrels eat in our forests?

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:46

Many people know that squirrels, these fluffy and cute animals, live in forests. But not everyone knows that these animals are very whimsical, and therefore they do not live in every such biotope. They only need light enough tall forests in which they can find enough food. By the way, what do squirrels eat?

As strange as it may seem, their menu includes far more than just nuts. Squirrels feel quite comfortable even in an orchard or even a vegetable garden located near the forest. But what do the proteins in it eat?

Of course, the seeds of coniferous trees, hidden in cones, make up a decent part of her diet. But she can just as well eat the seeds of cereal grasses, apples and pears from the forest "wild game", as well as the buds of some tree species. Squirrels do not disdain mushrooms and berries. But you can be very mistaken, seeing the vegetarian nature of their diet. So what do squirrels eat besides cones and berries?

It turns out that thesecute and charming animals can readily have a bite to eat with a beetle, and when they find a bird's nest, they will not turn up their noses from eggs or even chicks. By the way, it was precisely due to these aspects of its nutrition that the protein often turned out to be under suspicion of “wrecking”. So, in Poland, this species was placed under state protection twice from 1900 to 1960, and then the label of a protected species was removed from it for the same number of years. But how and what squirrels eat does not negate their harmful effect on the forest as a result of human stupidity.

Thus, after the First World War, the Polish authorities discovered that this species was virtually gone in the country's forests. Strict laws were issued prohibiting any hunting for squirrels. Ten years later, they bred so much that there were no cones in the forest areas for the reproduction of the population of coniferous massifs. Remember what squirrels eat in the forest besides cones?

A huge squirrel population not only gnawed off the entire crop of cones, but along the way destroyed almost all the young of songbirds. It was only after this that people began to think that when preparing and adopting environmental laws, many factors must be taken into account, and the nature of the diet of the protected species should be considered not least.

As for the squirrels that live in urban environments, populating parks and forested areas, they are often completely dependent on the people who feed them. They can be given nuts, special food for insectivores and rodents,bread and fruits. Please note that it is not recommended to feed the protein with sweets, as there are already enough carbohydrates in their diet.

Very interesting to watch them eat nuts. The animal takes the nut in its paws and, rapidly rotating it (as on a lathe), makes a hole on the side where the fruit is pointed. After that, the squirrel inserts two lower incisors into the hole made.

What is unusual about this? The fact is that in these animals (like in many rodents) the lower jaw consists of two halves, which are connected by elastic ligaments. The animal simply spreads the incisors a little to the sides, and the nut splits in half.

Now you know what squirrels eat in nature.