Harper Asprey Wildlife Rescue encouraging through knowledge a natural balance

 

Squirrel, Sciurus Carolinensis, drey, tree den, buck, doe, pup, kitten

An agile tree-dwelling rodent with a bushy tail, typically feeding on nuts and seeds
(for Black squirrels click here)(for red squirrels click here)
Grey squirrels have always had a bad press for way too long. These silver backed acrobats are fantastic and incredible to watch and really not the cause of the demise of their red cousins. It is conservation that will see the return of the Reds to widespread Britain. Grey squirrels love both the deciduous and conifer woodlands and thrive in both .
And lets not forget it was us who brought them here because we thought the reds were boring!!!!!!
Both Red and Grey Squirrels can be seen eating eggs and fledglings when the opportunity arises although both are predominantly vegetarian. The majority of their diet being tree seeds, fungi, nuts and berries.
Sometime Grey squirrels are blamed for the decline in woodland birds.
Dr Mark Avery who is the Director of Conservation for the RSPB wrote the following in a letter to the Telegraph on 22nd October, 2007: "Grey squirrels are not found in most other parts of Europe, yet woodland bird population is also dropping on the continent. "Poor woodland management, climate change and factors affecting migrating birds are far more significant."
It has been suggested by the Forestry Commission that grey squirrels can actually help bird populations in woodlands when they strip bark from trees. This encourages fungi and invertebrates, that grow in the stripped areas of bark, and this provides a good source of food for woodland birds. On occasions where a tree dies because of stripped bark, if humans leave the dead wood alone, it serves as a great nesting space for birds.

 

 

Grey's are also blamed for the pox virus which is currently spreading through the Red Squirrel population. This virus also affected the grey population many generations ago, but those who survived developed antibodies which protect the grey's today. The Red Squirrels are in a similar position now, and providing humans give them a chance by not removing their habitat, a good percentage might well survive and be immune. Captive reds have been shown to fight the virus with high quality diet. Diet seems to be the deciding factor in their survival.
As a non indigenous species they have little protection and cruel methods are sometimes employed to "control" the grey's.
Shooting grey's in trees,
Poisoning grey's with Warfarin - a nasty chemical which causes their blood to go thin and they bleed out of our eyes, ears, nose, mouth and other places.
Trapping them in cages, and then putting a bag over the end of the cage, so when we get chased into it, they can be bludgeoned to death.

All of these methods of "controlling" them are termed as "humane"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The grey squirrel can live up to 12 years in the wild and 20 years in captivity.
The grey squirrels head and Body length is is larger than that of the red, it is 23 to 30cm, with the tail reaching 19 to 25 cm. It’s total weight is 400 – 600 grams
In the wild, Grey Squirrels can be found inhabiting large areas of mature, dense woodland ecosystems, that generally cover 2 – 10 hectares of land. These forests usually contain large amounts of dense vegetation that provides sufficient amount of food sources and favorable shelters. They generally prefer constructing their dens on large tree branches and within the hollow trunks of trees. They have been known to take shelter within abandoned bird nests.
Grey squirrels live in a compact, spherical nest called a drey, which is 30 – 60 cm in diameter. The dens are usually lined with moss plants, thistledown, dried grass, and feathers, which provide insulation of the den to reduce heat loss. The cover to the den is usually built afterwards. In urban environments they can be seen in parks, gardens and woodlands.
Grey Squirrels breed twice a year, December to February and May to June, although this is can be slightly delayed in more northern latitudes.
The first litter is born between February and March and again in June and July. About two to six young are born in each litter. The gestation period is approximately 44 days. Young are weaned by 7 weeks and leave the nest after 10 weeks. Although Grey Squirrel's usually breed for the first time at a year old, they can start breeding at 5 months.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Squirrels feed on acorns, tree shoots, flowers, nuts, fruits, roots and cereals. They bury surplus food about 2 – 5 cm in the soil or in tree hollows.
Grey Squirrels have a high enough tolerance for humans to inhabit residential neighborhoods and will raid bird feeders for millet, corn and sunflower seeds. On very rare occasions, when the food source is scarce, Grey Squirrels will also prey upon insects, frogs, small rodents, including other squirrels, and small birds, their eggs and young. They have sometimes also been known to eat bones.
They are diurnal, active from before sunrise to after sunset. The peak of activity is in the autumn. As in most other mammals, communication among Squirrels involves both vocalizations and posturing. It has a quite varied repertoire of vocalizations, including a squeak similar to that of a mouse, a low pitched noise, a chatter, and a raspy "mehr mehr mehr". Other methods of communication include tail-flicking. Communications are used to ward off predators and during the mating season.
Like many other members of the family Sciuridae, the Grey Squirrel is a scatter-hoarder, it hoards food in numerous small caches for later recovery. Some caches are quite temporary, especially those near the site of a sudden abundance of food, which can be retrieved within hours or days for re-burial in a more secure area. Others are more permanent, which will not be retrieved until months later. It is estimated that each squirrel makes several thousand caches each season. The squirrels have very accurate spatial memory for the locations of their caches, they use distant and nearby landmarks to retrieve them. Smell is used once the squirrel is within a few centimeters of the cache.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is one of very few mammalian species that can descend a tree face-first. It does this by turning his feet so that the claws of its hind paws are backward pointing and can grip the tree bark.
Predators include humans, hawks, mustelids, snakes, owls, dogs, domestic and feral cats. A Squirrel may lose part of its tail while escaping a predator..