The Eastern Gray Squirrels live in woodlands and urban areas throughout the eastern and midwestern US and eastern provinces of Canada2.
These agile creatures are most active during sunrise and sunset. Eastern Gray Squirrels also store food in secret stashes, which benefits them and the environment by spreading seeds far and wide.
One of their most impressive tricks is their unique agility. For instance, their ankles can rotate 180 degrees, allowing them to make a death-defying head-first descent down trees.
Username: DinRat Published on 2024-12-14 17:46:20 ID NUMBER: 127058
The Eastern Gray Squirrels live in woodlands and urban areas throughout the eastern and midwestern US and eastern provinces of Canada2.
These agile creatures are most active during sunrise and sunset. Eastern Gray Squirrels also store food in secret stashes, which benefits them and the environment by spreading seeds far and wide.
One of their most impressive tricks is their unique agility. For instance, their ankles can rotate 180 degrees, allowing them to make a death-defying head-first descent down trees.
The Southern Flying Squirrel is a small squirrel species with unique nocturnal adaptations.
They possess large eyes perfectly adapted for nocturnal adventures and a flap of skin3, called 'patagium,' that stretches from wrist to ankle, allowing them to glide from tree to tree.
These squirrels live in deciduous and mixed forests and prefer to build their nests in tree cavities. Additionally, the Southern Flying Squirrels huddle together for warmth during the winter season.
Their diet comprises nuts, seeds, fruits, insects, bird eggs, and small birds.
Moreover, they play a significant role in their ecosystems by planting the seeds of new forests and being a food source for larger predators.
Northern Flying Squirrels are expert gliders that use a skin-like membrane called the patagium to navigate their treetop homes.
They typically live in mature, dense forests where they have access to a variety of food, including fungi, which they help to disperse by scattering spores.
These squirrels also huddle in their nests to keep warm during cold temperatures.
The Arizona Gray Squirrel lives in the coniferous forests of Arizona and New Mexico. These squirrels are known for their gray coat, white belly, and bushy tail.
They live in the calm wilderness and are often seen in trees, consuming various foods such as acorns, pine seeds, fruits, and berries.
Likewise, they store food during winter months to ensure their survival and contribute to seed dispersal, which is essential for the health of their forest homes.
Breeding season occurs in late winter or early spring, and after a gestation period of around 44 days, the female gives birth to 2-3 offspring. With an average lifespan of 6-7 years, these squirrels are survivors.
As the largest tree squirrels in North America, fox squirrels can grow remarkably 27 inches long. Their habitats span the eastern and central United States, extending to the West Coast and Canada.
Likewise, Fox Squirrels have comfortably settled in various settings, from mature hardwood and pine forests to tree-covered urban neighborhoods.
Fox Squirrels are diurnal creatures with sharp claws and muscular hind legs, making them excellent climbers. They can quickly move up and down trees and leap from branch to branch.
Fox squirrels prefer acorns, hickory nuts, walnuts, and other tree seeds for food. However, they will supplement their diet with fruits, berries, insects, bird eggs, and small rodents when necessary.
Unlike other squirrel species, Fox Squirrels do not store food for the winter. Instead, they bury food during warmer months and rely on their remarkable memory to find it when the weather turns cold.
The American Red Squirrel is a small, active rodent in North America's coniferous forests. Their fur is reddish and can range from a soft rusty red to a deep chestnut brown.
They are most active during the early morning and late afternoon, searching for food or guarding their territory.
Likewise, they eat coniferous tree seeds, mushrooms, fruits, and berries, and sometimes even bird eggs or young birds.
They observe "larder hoarding" to store food in a central cache for the winter months, showcasing their industrious nature.
The Douglas Squirrel lives in the conifers along the Pacific coastline of North America. This herbivorous squirrel feeds on seeds, berries, nuts, and conifer cones but may add insects and bird eggs when food is scarce.
Unlike other squirrel species, the Douglas Squirrel remains active during winter, gathering and storing food in hidden caches to get through the cold months. These caches often sprout into new saplings, contributing to the forest's renewal.
Named after Scottish botanist David Douglas, the Douglas Squirrel is a common sight in the lush forests from British Columbia to central California.
The Western Gray Squirrel boasts a striking silvery-gray coat and unique white belly. These squirrels live in mature forests along the western coastal areas of the United States, including California, Oregon, and Washington.
They eat seeds, nuts, acorns, pine cones, and the occasional fruit, berry, insect, or bird egg. Moreover, they bury food for later use, contributing to the health and growth of their forest homes.
During their mating season from late winter to early spring, young Western Gray Squirrels are born, symbolizing the renewal of life in the spring.
These squirrels have also adapted to the Sierra Nevada mountains. They prefer mature forests with ample shelter and food sources.
Ground squirrels live across North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. They have built homes in diverse landscapes, from deserts to forests.
Likewise, they are small to medium-sized with sturdy bodies and short legs. Their tails are bushy, and their fur comes in earthy tones.
Ground squirrels create extensive tunnel systems to protect themselves from harsh weather and predators. These tunnels also contain food storage rooms and nurseries for their young.
Moreover, these squirrels are most active during the morning and late afternoon and are mainly vegetarians. However, they will occasionally snack on insects and small vertebrates.
The Indian Giant Squirrel inhabits India's rainforests. It is one of the largest squirrels in the world, with a body length ranging from 25 to 45 cm and a tail that can grow up to 60 cm.
The squirrel's coat is a mix of chestnut, maroon, black, and white, and its big, round eyes help it see in the dense forests where it lives.
Indian Giant Squirrels live alone, high up in trees, constructing large, globe-like nests from twigs and leaves.
They eat fruits, flowers, nuts, tree bark, insects, and bird eggs and play an essential role in spreading seeds and helping new plants grow.
Besides their impressive size and colorful appearance, Indian Giant Squirrels are skilled acrobats. They hang upside down from branches, stretching their bodies to reach their food.
The Alpine Marmot is a squirrel relative found in Central and Southern Europe. It resides in rocky terrain and lush alpine meadows between 800 and 3,200 meters above sea level.
The marmot digs burrows for shelter that can reach depths up to 3 meters, often located among the region's native flora, which makes up the marmot's diet.
Likewise, the Alpine Marmot usually lives in colonies of up to 20 members. Each colony is a large family led by a dominant breeding pair and filled with their offspring.
Alpine marmots are hardy creatures built for survival in harsh climates. These squirrels hibernate for up to nine months during the icy winters, only emerging when spring arrives.
The Alpine marmot also does a unique whistle, echoing through the mountain air, which signals the rest of the colony that danger is near.
The Black Giant Squirrel has a striking black coat contrasted by cream to cinnamon hues on its underparts. Their body can grow up to 15 inches while their tails can be twice as long.
It's an arboreal animal found in Southeast Asia's mature forests that feeds on seeds, nuts, fruits, leaves, insects, bird eggs, and young birds.
Like oriental giant squirrels, this squirrel rarely ventures to the ground, preferring the trees' safety, where it communicates with its fellow squirrels through distinct calls.
The Variable Squirrel, or Finlayson's Squirrel, stands out due to its diverse coloration. This varies from black and white to grays and even lively hues of orange and red. You can identify them by their medium size, bushy tails, and rounded ears.
You'll find Variable Squirrels predominantly in Southeast Asia. Their habitat spans from forests to urban parks. Adaptation is their stronghold, allowing them to thrive in a wide range of environments.
Their diet largely consists of seeds, fruits, and nuts. However, they also occasionally consume insects.
The Layard's Palm Squirrel boasts a mix of grays and browns with an off-white underbelly. Noticeably, it has two thin and one thick stripes of orange along its body.
Found primarily in South Asia, these squirrels favor habitats with tropical weather. They are tree-dwellers, spending most of their time in rainforests, gardens, plantations, and woodland areas. Their choice of residence allows quick access to their preferred food sources.
Layard’s Palm Squirrels have a diverse omnivorous diet. They feast on various vegetation, including fruits, nuts, and flowers, but also consume insects and bird eggs when available. Their active daytime behavior involves foraging for food and agile tree-hopping.
The Eastern Gray Squirrels live in woodlands and urban areas throughout the eastern and midwestern US and eastern provinces of Canada2.
These agile creatures are most active during sunrise and sunset. Eastern Gray Squirrels also store food in secret stashes, which benefits them and the environment by spreading seeds far and wide.
One of their most impressive tricks is their unique agility. For instance, their ankles can rotate 180 degrees, allowing them to make a death-defying head-first descent down trees.
The Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake is a large venomous snake native to the southeastern region of the United States.
It can grow up to 8 feet long and has a unique zigzagging diamond pattern in bright yellows and earth tones on its back. This colorful pattern warns other animals of its lethal venom. Its dark skin allows it to blend in with fallen leaves and shadows.
The Eastern Diamondback lives in various habitats, from North Carolina to Louisiana, from pine-clad flatwoods coastal scrub habitats to barrier islands.
Despite their menacing appearance, they are not typically aggressive. Besides its prey, the Eastern Diamondback only attacks other animals when the snake feels threatened. Its venom paralyzes its victims and aids in digestion.
Before biting, the snake will shake its rattle, made from the same keratin found in hair and nails, to warn intruders.
Read more: Rattlesnake Facts, Types of Rattlesnake.
The Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake is the largest species of rattlesnake in the Americas and the heaviest venomous snake.
It can grow to a maximum length of eight feet and has diamond-shaped dark brown, black, and yellow markings. Its head is triangular, with a dark stripe running through each eye.
They use their rattle at the end of their to hunt prey. Rattlesnakes of this kind are solitary creatures that seek out other rattlesnakes only during the breeding season.
The Eastern Gray Squirrels live in woodlands and urban areas throughout the eastern and midwestern US and eastern provinces of Canada2.
These agile creatures are most active during sunrise and sunset. Eastern Gray Squirrels also store food in secret stashes, which benefits them and the environment by spreading seeds far and wide.
One of their most impressive tricks is their unique agility. For instance, their ankles can rotate 180 degrees, allowing them to make a death-defying head-first descent down trees.
The eastern long-necked turtle is native to swamps, lakes, and inland waterways in Eastern Australia. It is a carnivorous aquatic animal that feeds on small fishes, tadpoles, and invertebrates.
The unusual animal has a long neck up to the length of its shell. It also has webbed feet for digging and swimming. The long-necked turtle releases acrid liquid from its armpit and groin whenever it feels threatened.
The Eastern Newt, living in eastern North America, inhabits small lakes, ponds, streams, and adjoining wet forests. It is also called the Red-spotted Newt.
It has a unique three-stage life cycle; it begins as aquatic larvae, transforms into land-dwelling juveniles known as 'efts,' and eventually returns to the water as mature adults. During the eft stage, their skin turns bright orange-red, which warns predators about the toxic chemicals in their skin.
The eastern newt secretes tetrodotoxin, providing a chemical defense against predatory fishes and invertebrates. However, bullfrogs are unaffected by the toxin and readily consume the creature. Therefore, newts still sustain high predation levels2 in fish-containing habitats due to bullfrogs.
The eastern box turtle is endemic to the Eastern part of the United States. Eastern box turtles are slow and terrestrial. The turtle’s shells are high and dome-shaped, with colors ranging from brown to black. There are yellow and orange lines or spots on their carapace. Furthermore, a male eastern box turtle has red irises, while females have brown irises.
These turtles can grow up to 8 inches long with horned beaks. They are omnivores, feeding on a variety of animals and plants. Their diet contains earthworms, slugs, snails, mushrooms, beetles, flowers, and grubs. They avoid stressful environmental conditions as they prefer moderately wet forest areas with good drainage.
A close relative of these guys, the ornate box turtle, is the other terrestrial turtle native to the US.
The eastern mud turtle, also known as the common mud turtle, is native to the United States. However, it can be tricky to identify these aquatic species because they do not have any markings or patterns on their shells, unlike the striped mud turtle also found in the US.
In addition, they only grow up to 4 inches in length. Eastern mud turtles have a yellowish-grey chin and throat, their limbs and tail are grey, and their eyes are yellow with dark clouds.
They also have webbed feet. They are omnivorous and feed on insects, crustaceans, mollusks, amphibians, and aquatic vegetation. They prefer to live in freshwater regions in the Southeastern and Northeastern United States.
Eastern cottonwood is another widely distributed tree in America. It is a large tree that grows along streams, rivers, and lowland areas. It is the oldest and largest hardwood tree in North America, reaching a height of 100 feet and width of 75 feet. The tree species got its name from its seeds, which resemble cotton.
Eastern white pine is a native species of North America. This Maine and Michigan state tree has gray-brown barks, broad ridges, and scaly plates. It can grow between 50 to 80 feet tall.
Eastern Lowland Gorillas, also known as Grauer's Gorillas, live in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo home, specifically two national parks and surrounding forests. It thrives in the broadest range of altitudes, from lowland tropical forests to mountainous terrains.
They are also the largest gorilla subspecies, earning the rank of the heftiest living primate. Its appearance resembles a mountain gorilla with a jet-black coat, albeit shorter on the head and body.
Despite seasonal changes, Eastern Lowland Gorillas exhibit steady nesting patterns1. However, habitats differ between adults and young, with immatures favoring tree nests, indicating vulnerability. Moreover, the absence of an alpha silverback substantively influences nesting choice, signifying the male's critical protective role.
However, our knowledge of its social patterns, history, and ecological role is currently limited. This unfortunate situation stems largely from ongoing civil unrest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which hinders consistent research efforts. This circumstance underscores the cross-link between human-generated strife and our ability to study and protect crucial elements of biodiversity.
