Pine Squirrel
Friendly by nature they become quite tame wherever the park visitors are found, especially such areas as provide an opportunity to pick up chance bits of food. Alert and inquisitive they pry into anything that attracts their attention.
This squirrel has been frequently accused of destroying the nests of its bird neighbors and eating the eggs and young. This is true to some extent, especially among certain individuals. However, some of this damage is compensated by their unintentional benefit in assisting in reforestation. Cones and seeds that are buried for winter use are frequently overlooked and some of these later germinate and grow.
Pine squirrels do not hibernate during the winter and are active at all times except during periods of storms. They build warm nests either in hollow trees, woodpecker holes, or balls of leaves and fibers firmly anchored among the branches of a tree. They industriously collect large stores of cones for the winter food supply. These are either stored in hollows or more often buried in storage pits in the ground. After the ground is covered with its winter blanket of snow the squirrels make numerous tunnels under the snow which gives them access to the storage places and act as a protected place where they can scamper about.
The young are usually born in May or June, and number four or five to the litter with seldom more than one litter a year. Young squirrels are blind, naked and helpless for several weeks after birth.
A pine squirrel’s diet consists of nuts, seeds, berries, inner aspen bark, mushrooms, and some animal food such as birds’ eggs and fledglings.
Its enemies are hawks, owls, pine martens and weasels, and occasionally the larger carnivores.
General description: A small arboreal squirrel with flat, bushy tail; fairly long ears and fairly long pelage. Dark olivaceous with white underparts in summer, while in winter it is rusty-red above, sides olive-gray and underparts gray. Sexes alike. Total length about 13½ inches, tail over ⅓ of the length.
Where found: Abundant in all forested areas. Active during the daytime only.