 Today's photo is a young red squirrel. Two of them arrived as babies in my yard in the spring of 2016 and have remained ever since. This photo was taken last winter. Although they have grown, they still frequent my bird feeders and I'm sure will be the subject of many photos throughout the winter. According to the Adirondack Ecological Center the red squirrel's average lifespan ranges from 3 to 5 years, but some can live up to 10 years. Neither of these squirrels had babies this summer, but I am hopeful I will see new babies in the spring.
In my location red squirrels are rampart, but there are very few gray squirrels. According to some sources, even though they are much smaller than the gray squirrel, red squirrels are more aggressive and will chase gray squirrels out of their territory. They can become a nuisance at bird feeders, but I prefer to feed the squirrels as I enjoy their antics in the yard.
6 Comments
11/14/2017 12:44:56 am
I love squirrels, but they can become a nuisance if they get inside your attic. They are very smart little critters. They're precious animals, thank you for this photo and the information on the two who live in your yard. I loved reading about them.
Nannette Richford
12/23/2017 05:11:50 am
So glad you enjoyed my little darling! I 'rescued' a baby pink from a washed-out nest in my father's barn years ago. There were three nearly dead pinkies, -could have been rats for all I knew. I took them home, fed them warmed baby formula milk from an eye-dropper. Two of them died within a few days, -too far gone. But one took to the bottle, grew like a weed, sprouted RED fur, -a RED SQUIRREL! I raised the creature, tried several times to introduce back into the wild but it refused to stay away, let returning to me, to the cage. I kept the squirrel for nearly ten years as a totally holdable housepet! I'd allow free-roaming while at home, in-cage when not at home. The squirrel was very active, loved to be chased, would come and let be picked up, petted, placed into shirt pocket, etc. Lovely pet. Lived for nearly a decade, slowly turning 'grey' fur, passed away quietly in her nest... I still miss that red squirrel that I named "Kookla" -which is Russian for (hand-puppet) clown...
Nannette Richford
12/23/2017 05:10:53 am
What a lovely story. Thanks for taking the time to share with us.
Nannette Richford
6/3/2018 06:11:10 pm
Glad you enjoyed it. Leave a Reply. |
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