These adorable squirrels can jump up to 10 times their body length, climb, and even rotate their ankles 180 degrees in all directions. They have incredibly good eyesight and can mimic other animals. They don't hesitate to venture outdoors during the day. Despite their cute appearance, they are quite dangerous predators. Now, let's look at some interesting facts about squirrels.
1. The word "squirrel" in Greek means "shadow tail".
2. Squirrels store nuts and acorns for the winter.
This action is especially necessary for squirrels that do not hibernate.
3. Squirrels have two-jointed hind legs. This allows them to climb and descend trees very quickly.
4. Male squirrels can smell a female wanting to mate from a distance of up to 1.5 kilometers.
5. The pregnancy of a female squirrel lasts 44 days.
6. Squirrels have 4 toes on their front paws.
They are used to grip tree bark when climbing. The hind feet have five toes.
7. Gray squirrels live in the eastern United States, Great Britain, Ireland and South Africa.
8. There are 285 species of squirrels living on continents other than Antarctica and Australia.
9. They can eat as much as their body weight.
10. They can fall from a height of 30 meters without causing harm to themselves.
11. They use their tails as parachutes when jumping or falling!
12. The body temperature of the ground squirrel, also known as the Arctic squirrel, drops below freezing during hibernation.
This species of squirrel is the only warm-blooded mammal that can withstand such extreme conditions.
13. Squirrels can see with their eyes.
14. In 2007, Iran claimed that 14 squirrels found near its borders were actually spies.
15. In 2013, authorities closed a campground in the Los Angeles National Forest because of a squirrel. An infected squirrel native to the region had killed a 15-year-old boy from Kyrgyzstan. 100 people were quarantined to control the infection.
16. Squirrels are very intelligent creatures. They immediately understand which route is the shortest and easiest to get to the food they need.
17. They can jump up to 20 meters high.
18. The chipmunks we saw in the 2005 film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are real, not CGI!
They were specially prepared for the scenes in the film.