Species
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Red squirrel                            

Tamiasciurus sciurusvulgaris              

by Brian

Classification 

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chodata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: sciuridae


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