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Red squirrel
Tamiasciurus sciurusvulgaris
by Brian
Classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chodata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: sciuridae
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Physical Description
The red squirrel is a small squirrel. It is smaller than the
gray squirrel or the fox squirrel and is an average of 28-30 cm in length.
It weighs an average of 11 ounces it has reddish-orange fur
Diet and Feeding Habits
The red squirrel eats insects, seeds, bark, nuts,
fruits, mushrooms, and pine seeds or pine cones.
Reproduction
Red squirrels mate in late winter. They nest in a tree top using leaves,
twigs, and bark. In early spring, females squirrels have 2 to 5 babies.
The babies are born hairless and weigh less than an ounce.
Habitat
The red squirrel can be found in coniferous, deciduous and mixed coniferous-deciduous
forests.
Role in the Ecosystem
The Red Squirrel is an omnivore. It is a predator of song bird nests.
Animals that eat red squirrels are cats, hawks, coyotes, foxes, weasels,
and bobcats. The red squirrel’s niche (were it lives, were it gets its
water its resources and its food) is in the coniferous-deciduous mixed
forests.
Bibliography
www.Dnr. state. mn.us/snapshot/mamals/redsquirrel.html
www.nhptv.org/nature/redsquirrel.html
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