GNAWING ANIMALS: RABBIT, HARES, DORMOUSE, VOLES, MICE, RATS, AND SQUIRRELS
Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris, Linn.).
With the beautiful Squirrel, the most popular of all our native fauna, we make the acquaintance of another order of animals, the Rodentia or gnawing mammals, which is the most numerously represented of the orders in our meagre list, Britain still possessing fifteen species of rodents. Besides the Squirrel, the order Rodentia includes the Dormouse, the Rats, Mice, and Voles, the Hares and Rabbit; and the characteristic feature that brings them together is the chisel-like pattern of their incisor teeth. ([See Introduction.]) They may be said to be the dominant race of mammals in the present day, for whilst over a thousand species are known to science, and these mostly of very wide geographical range, there are vast and increasing numbers of individuals representing many of the species. Whilst man is busy killing off the carnivora and the birds of prey, these natural checks to the multiplication of the Rodents are being missed seriously, and Rats, Hamsters, and Voles prove a serious menace to man's agricultural produce, and the Rat to his health owing to its instrumentality as a carrier of disease.
A distinctive character of the Rodents, additional to the chisel-teeth and the absence of canines, is the possession of hairy linings to the mouth, the external skin being continued into the sides of the mouth behind the upper front teeth. In the Hares and Rabbits the whole of the inside of the cheeks is covered with hair.
Very few of the Rodents are aquatic in their habits, and of these few the Water Vole is the only British representative. Most of them are burrowing animals, and excavate long runs and nesting places in the earth; a few, like the Squirrels and Dormice, are arboreal. As a whole the Rodents may be said to be vegetarians; but the Rats are omnivorous, and the Water Vole though mainly herbivorous takes a little animal food.
The Squirrel is one of the most picturesque of our small mammals, especially when seen sitting on his haunches on a tree branch, his plumy tail curled up his back, his tufted ears erect, and his forepaws holding a nut; or when making his prodigious leap from bough to bough. He is not nearly so big a creature as he looks under these conditions, for if we could pass the tape over him from the end of his snout to the tip of his tail proper (that is, not including the hairs that extend beyond the tip), we should find he only measures about fifteen and a half inches, and of this length seven inches, or nearly half, is provided by the tail. Examine his feet, and you will see that they are adapted eminently for climbing. The forefeet have four fingers and a rudimentary thumb, and the hind feet have five toes; the claws long, curved and sharp-pointed, and the soles hairy. The muzzle is well furnished with "whiskers," the prominent eyes are black and bright, and the large, pointed ears bear tufts of long hairs in winter. The hind limbs are much longer than the forelimbs, and the heel of the long foot touches the surface upon which it rests. The upper parts and tail are brownish red and the under parts white. Before winter, when the fur becomes softer and thicker, a grey tinge is developed on the sides, and the ear-tufts become longer and bushy; these are shed in the breeding season (early summer). At times it may be found with the tail of a creamy tint.
One of the Squirrel's strong claims to popular favour is his diurnal habits, which makes him better known by all who wander in the woods; in one sense it is a pity it is so, for in the neighbourhood of large towns the "sporting instinct" of 'Arry has led him to kill or mutilate the Squirrel with sticks and stones. Not many years ago the numerous Squirrels that added to the attractions of Richmond Park were shot by the keepers to prevent 'Arry killing them! Ordinary intelligences thought it would have been better to have disciplined 'Arry.
The Squirrel builds nests in the branches of the trees it affects, not merely as nurseries, but for resting places. There may be several of these in adjacent trees or in the one to which the builder is specially attached. Some of these may be crows' or magpies' nests adapted for the new tenants, or may be wholly the Squirrel's work. They are bulky structures composed of twigs, strips of thin bark, moss, and leaves; sometimes cup-shaped, others domed. These are usually known as "dreys"; but in parts of Surrey they are "jugs," squaggy-jugs to give them their full name. The breeding nest is a huge ball (unless there is a roomy hollow in the trunk that can be upholstered) with a side entrance. Here in summer the three or four blind and naked young are born, and they remain with their parents until themselves adult.
