98 ] Animals in the Wild 



well. In fact, these attractive rodents seem to prefer the hazards 

 of civilization to the dangers of the wilds, and their habits vary 

 little whether they live in town or country. 



Young Squirrels: Watch for young squirrels about the middle of 

 May. A mother bears four to six infants during March, and she 

 may have a second litter during the summer. She gives her young 

 devoted care. They are born blind and hairless. When they are 

 about six weeks old they begin to climb around the tree branches 

 and nibble at buds and leaves. At eight or nine weeks they have 

 a full coat of fur and are about half grown. 



In a year they have almost reached full growth and are able to 

 leap among the branches with astounding agility. The bushy tail 

 is a great help in balancing and making easy landings possible. 

 There is endless entertainment in watching the acrobatics of a 

 gray squirrel. I recall observing one of them leap from a branch of 

 a tree to a long attached wire, and then slide down the wire like 

 a fireman using his pole for speedy descent. The lure was a 

 well-stocked bird-feeding station at the end of the wire! 



During cold weather squirrels generally live in a hollow tree, 

 but later in the year they find a suitable location, usually thirty 

 feet from the ground in the crotch of a tree, and there they 

 construct a nest of dead leaves and sticks. The shape of the nest is 

 a clue to the tenant's identity. A bird's nest is flattened at the top; 

 the squirrel's is rounded. Red squirrels also build nests sprawling 

 but comfortable ones of bark, twigs, leaves or moss. 



Squirrels and Food: As you watch a squirrel bury a nut in the 

 ground, you may well ask yourself: Will he ever find it again? It 

 would be a mistake to think that all the nuts that are buried get 

 dug up afterward. This is especially true in the wilds where food 

 is plentiful; and for this reason the squirrel makes a valuable 

 contribution to replanting the forests. 



However, in regions where winter food is scarce the clever 

 little rodent recovers more of the stored nuts. It is believed that 

 the squirrel is guided to the right locality by memory, and to the 

 exact spot by a keen sense of srnell which can penetrate through 

 several inches of snow 



