ALL ABOUT SQUIRRELS

DEAR GEORGE, Growing up on the river, we kids considered the squirrels to be part of our family. They built their nests in the oak trees in our front yard and driveway, scurried about our lawn all day long, and thrived on the thousands of acorns as well as the overflow of seeds from Mother’s bird feeder. They never seemed worried about our Irish Setters, probably because they were too quick to get caught. My dad explained that the squirrels were important because some of their buried acorns would grow into new trees and help replenish the forest. Some seventy years later and in the big city, we still have squirrels all over the place. Iko gets excited and pulls on the leash when he spots them on our daily walks though they’re too quick for him as well. Katja and I watch the pair of squirrels that have built their nest on the window ledge outside our second-floor TV room. They don’t mind us watching them from the other side of the window.

Squirrels have been around for 36 million years, about 180 times longer than we humans. They live on every continent in the world except Antartica. Gray tree squirrels (our familiar friends) grow up to 12 inches in body length with a tail up to 10 inches. Adults weigh between 14 and 21 ounces. Up until the mid-1800’s squirrels were virtually unknown in American cities except as exotic pets. In July 1856 the New York Daily Times reported a huge crowd gathered in Central Park to witness the rare appearance of a gray squirrel, probably a pet that had escaped from its Fifth Avenue owner. Cities, however, began introducing squirrels to parks for their entertainment value, and by the mid-1880’s there were 1500 squirrels in Central Park.

If they had an Olympics for animals, squirrels would bring home a lot of the medals. Though less than 5 percent the body size of human beings, they can run 20 miles an hour and leap a distance of twenty feet. Because of their ability to use their tail as a parachute, squirrels can fall off a tree branch or electric wire 100 feet above the the ground, land on their feet, and not get hurt. Squirrels are double-jointed, and consequently they can turn their ankles and face in any direction. Because of this ability, they are one of the few creatures that can run headfirst down a tree trunk. Not only that but their eyes are positioned so that they can see behind themselves.

Squirrels mostly eat nuts, seeds, and fruit, though they sometimes enjoy an occasional insect, bird egg, or young snake. They’re serious eaters, taking in their own body weight every week. Squirrels don’t hibernate during the winter, Instead they rely on stockpiles of food that they gather and store in hiding places in the ground. Because putting all their food in a single location might make it vulnerable to thieves, squirrels do “scatter hoarding”, spreading their food across hundreds or even thousands of locations. Such clever little guys, they are even known to dig fake holes with no food in them in order to trick onlooking thieves. Researchers at Berkeley have found that, when given a mixture of different types of nuts, squirrels will sort the nuts by type and bury each type in a different spot.

Squirrels live alone most of the time, though they’ll sometimes nest together in the cold winter months. They build their nests with leaves, twigs, bark, moss, dried grass, and other materials in the forks of nut-bearing trees (e.g., oaks) or sometimes in people’s attics or chimneys. Groups of squirrels (called a “scurry” or a “dray”) are very territorial and will fight to the death defending their area, especially mothers protecting their babies. The squirrel mating season is from February through May, with males trying to attract attention by slapping the bark of trees and chattering loudly. Baby squirrels are called kits. They are born hairless, blind, deaf, and about one inch long. Each litter has two to four kits who are weaned after 7 or 8 weeks and leave the nest after 14 or 15 weeks.

Squirrels’ lives are threatened by a large bunch of predators: hawks, weasels, raccoons, bobcats, coyotes, foxes, cats, snakes, owls, dogs, human beings. Tail flicking and the “yuk” or “quaa” call are used to ward off and to warn other squirrels about predators. Squirrels in cities rely more on visual signals because of the noisy background environment, while squirrels in quieter forests vocalize more. Because of all their predators, most squirrels don’t live beyond two years, though those that manage to survive may live for six to twelve years in the wild.

There are about 2 billion Eastern gray squirrels in the U.S. In Ohio there are four species: gray, red, fox, and flying squirrels. Much to my surprise, the flying squirrel is the most common species in Ohio, but they’re rarely seen because they stay in forests and are nocturnal. Eastern gray squirrels are most populous in Cincinnati and Columbus, while Eastern fox squirrels are dominant in Cleveland, Toledo, and Youngstown. There were so many gray squirrels in the state in the nineteenth century that the Ohio General Assembly required each taxable adult to produce to the township clerk a number of squirrel scalps in proportion to county levies (a minimum of 10 but no more than 100 scalps per person). Fox, red, and gray squirrels are still legal game animals in Ohio, though Ohio state law says that, after trapping them, one must not keep squirrels in their possession for over 24 hours.

Americans have eaten squirrels for food since the Colonial days, and they remain a popular item in several Southern states. Chefs describe the meat as delicious, like a cross between a lamb and a duck — incredibly sweet, nutty, and very lean. Consumers like the fact that squirrels are local and a wild meat. Because the loin is so small, a squirrel is cooked exactly like a rabbit, either very quickly or for a long time. There are about 12 companies on the internet that sell grey squirrel, and most local butchers can obtain them if asked. Potential cooks should ask the butcher to skin the squirrels because an amateur would pull them into pieces.

I asked Katja about cooking squirrels for supper one day, and she’s thinking it over. But whether or not we eat some, I’m glad to have done my research. Now I look at our little neighbors with a newfound appreciation. LOVE, DAVE

SOURCES: arrow exterminating.com, “21 Interesting Facts About Squirrels”; asking lot.com, “How many squirrels live in Ohio”; havahart.com, “Squirrels”; livescience.com, “Squirrels: Diet, Habits & Other Facts”; ohiodnr.gov, “Eastern Gray Squirrel”; ohiohistorycentral.org, “Eastern Gray Squirrel”; quora.com, “How many squirrels are there in the world”; skedaddlewildlife.com, “How Long Do Squirrels Live?”; summitenvironmenalsolutions.com, “20 Fun facts about squirrels”; theguardian.com, “The ultimate ethical meal: a grey squirrel”; treehugger.com, “18 Things You May Not Know About Squirrels”; vancouverwildlife.com, “Squirrel Facts and Information”; vice.com, “We Should Think About Eating Squirrel”; wikipedia.org, “Eastern Gray Squirrel”.