Winter stores must be collected
Photo: Arne Ader
Translation:Liis
Squirrel
Squirrel; Red squirrel Harilik orav Sciurus vulgaris
The squirrel doesn’t wear its winter coat yet and even the ear tufts are still missing. In autumn the squirrel feeds on plant seeds, spruce cones (fortunately there are some again after some years), hazelnuts, acorns and also mushrooms. Now is the time for collecting winter stock into storage (tree hollows or root cavities), burying it and drying mushrooms on branches.
Finding the hidden food stores by smell in winter with snow cover isn’t easy. At the foot of a larger tree we can often see an oak or hazel sapling that the little animals have planted.
Squirrels have daytime habits, so it is always interesting for people - whom they trust, with some reasonable precaution – to observe their doings. An adult squirrel pair has fostered two litters during the summer, thus eight to ten young. How many of them enjoy the gifts of autumn? The life of squirrels is full of dangers.
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