I liked watching movies on Nut-flix, but he could never sit still for long. He was very jumpy, and his tail kept blocking my view.
I thought he was a nutcase – so secretive, always squirrelling things away without telling me.
He got aggressive, so I rearranged his nuts then left.
Author Notes
Author's Note:
This is number 41 in the series of my hypothetical 'new boyfriends'.
The creatures I have written about previously are: Penguin, Chimpanzee, Whale, Albatross, Rabbit, Bull, Cat, Dog, Pig, Horse, Grey Parrot, Snake, Polar Bear, Bee, Octopus, Goat, Vampire Bat, Swan, Snail, Elephant, Flamingo, Kangaroo, Rainbow Trout, Dung Beetle, Beaver, Swordfish, Giraffe, Mouse, Sheep, Pigeon, Gnu, Porcupine, Centipede, Cheetah, Alligator, Owl, Seahorse, Tortoise, Praying Mantis, Fur Seal.
SQUIRRELS are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa, and were introduced by humans to Australia. The earliest known fossilized squirrels date from the Eocene period and are most closely related to the mountain beaver and to the dormouse, among other living rodent families.
The word 'squirrel' comes from the Ancient Greek word 'skiouros', which means shadow-tailed, referring to the bushy appendage possessed by many of its members.
Tree squirrels, unlike most mammals, can descend a tree head-first. They do so by rotating their ankles 180 degrees, enabling the hind paws to point backward and thus grip the tree bark from the opposite direction.
Squirrels live in almost every habitat, from tropical rainforest to semiarid desert, avoiding only the high polar regions and the driest of deserts. They are predominantly herbivorous, subsisting on seeds and nuts, but many will eat insects and even small vertebrates.
As their large eyes indicate, squirrels have an excellent sense of vision, which is especially important for the tree-dwelling species. Many also have a good sense of touch, with vibrissae on their limbs as well as their heads.
Because squirrels cannot digest cellulose, they must rely on foods rich in protein, carbohydrates, and fats. In temperate regions, early spring is the hardest time of year for squirrels because the nuts they buried are beginning to sprout (and thus are no longer available to eat), while many of the usual food sources have not yet become available. During these times, squirrels rely heavily on the buds of trees. Squirrels, being primarily herbivores, eat a wide variety of plants, as well as nuts, seeds, conifer cones, fruits, fungi, and green vegetation.
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