Contents
- Some ground squirrel rodent makes “rattlesnake perfume”
- Some gray squirrel rodents are either black or white
- Hibernating squirrel rodent may help protect the human brain
- Squirrel rodent collect 10,000 seeds a year
- Squirrel rodent can recognize each other by “kissing”!
- Big fluffy tails have many uses
- Hard to sneak up on them
- Squirrel rodent are considered missionaries of manners
- Squirrel rodent are also an invasive species
Some ground squirrel rodent makes “rattlesnake perfume”
A 2010 study found that some squirrel rodent collects old rattlesnake skins, chew them up, and lick their fur to create a “rattlesnake perfume” that helps them avoid predators who rely on their sense of smell.
Some gray squirrel rodents are either black or white
A white squirrel descends from a tree in a city park in Olney, Illinois. If you see an all-white or all-black squirrel in North America, it’s probably a camouflaged gray or fox squirrel. Black mutations are the result of melanism, a development of melanin that occurs in many animals. White fur can be caused by albinism, although there are many white squirrel rodents that do not have distinctive pink or red eyes, but rather because of their color leucism. Some places are more prone to white squirrel rodent, such as Brevard, North Carolina, where as many as one-third of the squirrel rodent have white fur.
Hibernating squirrel rodent may help protect the human brain
A study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) suggests that hibernating ground squirrel rodent have a property that helps protect stroke victims from brain damage. When squirrel rodent hibernates, they experience a significant reduction in blood flow to the brain, similar to what happens in humans after a stroke. However, the squirrel rodent woke up after hibernation and were not seriously affected. Scientists believe that a potential drug inspired by these squirrel rodent’ adaptive abilities “could make the brains of ischemic stroke patients equally resilient by mimicking the cellular changes that protect the brains of these animals,” the NIH said in a news release.
Squirrel rodent collect 10,000 seeds a year
Just as humans hoard snacks to enjoy on their own, squirrel rodent has a habit of secretly hiding seeds they can’t finish.
Scientists estimate that a squirrel collects about 10,000 seeds a year and buries them in different places, and unlike you, who can’t find your remote control, can’t remember where you dropped your umbrella, or forgot to stuff 200 bucks in your pocket, squirrel rodent can retrieve most of the seeds they’ve buried by hand.
But how exactly do you keep track of 10,000 seeds? Experiments found that squirrel rodent may use a similar “grouping memory” to divide seeds into different groups according to their size or deliciousness (e.g., walnuts and almonds, melon seeds and sunflower seeds), and then draw them into the treasure map in their minds, so even if the bad-eyed scientists secretly dug out the squirrel’s secret treasure and erased the smell and made a fake pile of soil to mislead the case, the squirrel rodent would still find the correct burial site. The squirrel rodent still manages to find the right place to bury the treasure, proving that they do have a good memory.
However, the squirrel rodent can’t keep track of the inventory, and a few of the seeds they forgot or didn’t have time to eat will awaken and germinate in the soil in the winter and spring, and the squirrel rodent will have planted a tree for the earth without any intention to do so. The consequences of this forgetfulness are not only romantic, but also very environmentally friendly.
Squirrel rodent can recognize each other by “kissing”!
Squirrel rodent will hide the food they find in one place every time, but they never rely on their memory to find the food storage place, but rely on their keen sense of smell, and the same is true for their own kind.
When the squirrel rodent meets each other for the first time, the squirrel rodent will rely on their sense of smell to recognize each other, sniffing so close that it looks like they are kissing, and when they meet the squirrel rodent for the second time, they know who they are when they smell the odor.
Big fluffy tails have many uses
A big fluffy tail can be used as a blanket to keep them warm in the winter and as a sunshade to keep them cool in the summer. Tails also help them balance and are used for communication. A researcher on a college campus taught several squirrel rodents how to open boxes containing either walnuts, a dried corn kernel or nothing at all.
Sometimes these boxes were locked. She videotaped the results and noticed that the squirrel rodent made a slow, sweeping tail motion when they realized there was no food in the box or it was locked. But she wasn’t sure if the tail movement signaled disgust or a reminder to the other squirrel rodent not to delay opening the box. Squirrel rodent also use the same tail motion when they are in fighting mode. 2.
Hard to sneak up on them
Squirrel rodent have very keen vision. Their peripheral vision is as good as their focal vision. As a result, they don’t have to twist their heads to see what’s above and beside them, making sneaking up on them difficult. Their color vision isn’t great, though, but their yellowish lens doubles as a natural sunglass to mitigate harsh sunlight.
Squirrel rodent are considered missionaries of manners
The question about how the eastern gray squirrel (the one most commonly found in your backyard) came to be so common in the United States is a fascinating one. As cities began to create parks and gardens, urban innovators introduced squirrel rodent to these places.
Jason Bittel writes on Slate’s website, “Squirrel rodent were considered a desirable feature of these places, and what’s the point of having only trees without these little inhabitants?” Squirrel rodent are also used as a way to teach young boys how to be kind to animals. A founding member of the Boy Scouts of America believed that sending these “squirrel missionaries” around the world would “cure boys of their violent tendencies.” Ordinary people introduced the cute little squirrel rodent to cities in America and Europe, where they remained popular until they fell out of favor.
Squirrel rodent are also an invasive species
In the United Kingdom, gray squirrel rodent takes over the territory of the native red squirrel rodent, leading to a sharp decline in their numbers. Scientists have also discovered that gray squirrel rodent carry a virus that is very deadly to red squirrel rodent. In the U.S. (or elsewhere), squirrel rodent will pick off the bark of trees in search of sap, or will make a home in the attic of a resident’s home if there is a hole in the roof that will let them in.
Once they have taken up residence, they will damage the wiring and insulation in the home. While there are those who view them as pests, we are partly to blame for this bad reputation. Squirrel rodent will make their homes and thrive wherever there is an abundant food source. And they won’t just eat nuts, they’ll eat birds, insects, and even cheeseburgers and chocolate chip cookies if they have enough. If you seal your house well enough (seal the doorways as well as the chimney), trim off any branches that grow up to the eaves, and don’t throw trash everywhere, they may not break into your home.