RODENTS 79 



squirrel grasps these objects with his fore-paws (see Section A, 2). The 

 presence of a rudimentary thumb almost converts these into hands, and 

 thus renders them still more . suited for grasping. While eating the 

 animal sits, or rather squats, on the hinder portion of its body. 



7. Since the animal uses its fore-limbs as arms, clavicles are present. 

 (Compare with bat.) 



8. Since it conveys the food to its mouth with its hand-like paws, the 

 neck is short. (Compare with orang-utan and ox.) 



9. The salivary glands are large, as in all herbivorous animals (see 

 ox). The oesophagus is narrow and the intestine long. 



C. Its Enemies. 



Among animals the marten is the fiercest foe of the squirrel. The fox, 

 too, endeavours to circumvent it, and falcons and owls swoop down upon it 

 when they have the chance. Man, who takes pleasure in the varied antics 

 of this " monkey of our woods," has long recognised that in the squirrel 

 he is dealing with a serious destroyer of the forest. The forester might 

 perhaps be inclined to overlook the destruction of his seeds, but when he 

 finds the young shoots of his pines and firs bitten off, young trees, which 

 he has reared with much trouble, killed by having their bark gnawed away, 

 the nests of his most useful helpmates, the feathered songsters, despoiled, 

 we need not wonder at his wrath and his endeavours to destroy the 

 spoiler wherever he can. Nature, however, has equipped the squirrel 

 with various means of protection against its enemies. 



1. Its arboreal life is in itself a protection, for neither fox nor man 

 can follow it to its lofty domain. 



2. Its extraordinary agility, excelling even the marten (which see) in 

 leaping and climbing. Birds of prey it usually eludes by rapidly climbing 

 up the trunks of the tree in spiral lines, whereas its pursuers can only 

 fly round in larger curves. 



3. Its reddish-brown coat renders it almost unnoticeable on pines and 

 fir-trees, especially since its lighter-coloured under-side is covered by the 

 stem or branches. In the North (Lapland, Eussia and Siberia) its fur 

 during the snowy winter becomes whitish-gray (minever). 



4. Its sharp senses enable it to detect an enemy even at a distance. 

 With its erected ears, which are provided with a pencil of hairs, the 

 so-called " horns," it can easily detect the slightest sound, and with its 

 keen and watchful eye it constantly surveys from its lofty watch-tower 

 its immediate surroundings. The hairs over the upper lip indicate a 

 well-developed sense of touch. 



5. By the aid of the hand-like fore-paws it constructs a protective nest 



