Squirrels belong to a large family of rodents
called the Sciuridae.
Squirrel Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Suborder: Sciuromorpha
Family: Sciuridae
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Other Names:
Squirrel in Foreign Languages:
Albanian: ketër
Arabic: sinjab
Bashkir: teyen
Basque: katagorri / urtxintxa
Belarusian: vavjórka
Breton: gwiñver / kaz-koad
Bulgarian: katerica
Catalan: esquirol
Cherokee: salali
Chinese Mandarin: songshu / huishu
/ lìshu
Chuvash: paksa
Croatian: vjeverica
Czech: veverka
Danish: egern
Dutch: eekhoorn
Esperanto: sciuro
Estonian: orav
Faroese: íkorni
Finnish: orava
French: écureuil
Friulian: sghirat / sghirate
Galician: esquío
Georgian: c'iqvi
German: Eichhörnchen / Hörnchen
Greek: skíouros
Hebrew: snai
Hopi: sakuna
Hungarian: mókus
Icelandic: íkorni
Indonesian: bajing
Interlingua: sciuro / scuriolo
Irish: iora / madra crainn
Isthmus Zapotec: chisa
Italian: scoiattolo
Korean: daramjwi
Ladin: schirata
Latin: sciurus
Latvian: vavere
Lithuanian: vovere
Lower Sorbian: njewjericka
Luxembourgish: Kaweechelchen
Macedonian: vervérica
Maltese: skwiril
Navajo: tseek'inástánii
Norwegian: ekorn
Occitan: esquiròl
Old English: acweorna
Old Norse: íkorni
Polish: wiewiórka
Portuguese: esquilo
Powhatan: messanik
Romani: viaveritsa
Romansch: stgilat
Russian: bélka
Sami: oarri
Sardinian: schirrittu / schirrimatta
/ iscojàttulu
Scottish Gaelic: feòrag
Slovak: veverica
Slovene: veverica
Spanish: ardilla
Swahili: kindi
Swedish: ekorre
Taos: c’ùwala’ána
Telugu: uDuta
Turkish: sincap
Ukrainian: bílka
Upper Sorbian: wjewjercka
Uzbek: olmaxon
Venetian: schirat
Vilamovian: achkienla
Welsh: gwiwer
West Frisian: iikhoarntsje
Wolof: jaar ji
Yakut: tiiñ
Yiddish: veverke / vevrik
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Size: Squirrels measure 5 to 36 inches long
and they weigh 0.5 oz to 4 lbs. The smallest squirrel
is the African pygmy squirrel which measures only five
inches long. The largest squirrel is the Indian giant
squirrel, which is three feet long!
Habitat: Squirrels are found on every continent
except Australia and Antartica. Squirrels are highly
adaptable and they are found in almost every habitat
from tropical rainforest to semiarid desert throughout
the world.
Description: Squirrels have long muscular hind
legs and short front legs. Squirrels also have a thick
bushy tail. Squirrels come in a variety of shapes, sizes
and colors. In fact squirrels can be black, white, gray,
brown and red.
Diet: Squirrels eat nuts, small insects, roots,
tree bark, leaves and acorns.
Communication: Squirrels communicate
by chattering and waving their tails.
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Did You Know?
Like rabbits a squirrels front teeth
never stop growing.
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Gestation: Squirrels carry their young from
33 to 60 days.
Birth: Squirrels give birth to litters of 4
or 8 babies. Squirrels are born naked and blind.
Sexually Mature: Most squirrels species reach
sexual maturity around the age of one.
Life Span: Squirrels live approximately
6 years.
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Did You Know?
A squirrel will break the shell of
a nut with its teeth, then clean the
nut by licking it or rubbing on its
face before it is buried. The "cleaning"
applies a scent to the nut which helps
the squirrel find it later.
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