Squirrel, charming acrobat

1992/07/01 Aihartza, Joxerra Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Zoologia

Among the wild mammals that we inhabit in the Basque Country, there will probably be no species that will be recognized as kind and with good eyes as the squirrel. And no wonder, as in addition to its modest and elegant appearance, it offers us at all times the opportunity to enjoy a show of slenderness that goes up and down the branches of the trees. It has very well named “katagorri”, because not even the cat will teach anything to this curious little animal

Katagorria is a rodent, but like the rest of the members who are adapted to live in the trees by this order (lirones, etc. ), has a long and special hairy tail, with a balance organ suitable for movements across the branches. In addition, the eye-catching locks of hair that appear at the ends of the ear also do it completely.

Color is different, both in populations that inhabit different latitudes, and in each grain, according to the time of year. In general, in the dorsal area and in the head, the squirrel has a reddish brown and brown nail, while the belly appears white or whitish. However, the further north, their squirrels are darker, sometimes almost black, and the further south the redder. Also, each grain is usually darker in winter than in summer.

Like the rest of rodents, squirrel is primarily phytophagous, and within its diet the main foods are seeds and fruits: chestnuts, acorns, beech acorns, pine seeds, grass seeds, and the fruits of various bridges and bushes. He also likes mushrooms. In any case, the squirrel cannot find these foods throughout the year, so in the months of higher availability of food complements food stores for situations of scarcity. Often, of course, it can happen that these warehouses are not enough, and then, especially in the spring, you can eat shoots of trees and bridges, as well as eggs and chickens of birds to meet your needs. And by this activity, he has sometimes conquered the anger and attack of man, in the opinion of the harmful animal.

However, this behavior or tendency of the squirrel is not as common as it was thought in a time, and its consequences are, in most cases, harmful as to the possible damage that the animal can cause. The key to this problem is very similar to that of other rodents. Squirrel is also a large animal, and in the years when autumn is abundant in seeds, the squirrel population can grow considerably.

Therefore, and if winter is not too hard, in the following spring squirrels may need more food than normal, and we hope that the behaviors mentioned above will occur. But as in most animals with a high reproduction rate, the squirrel also presents a high mortality and, at least in natural conditions, the situation is rapidly balanced, both due to food shortages and the long and cold years of snow.

On the other hand, the squirrel also has several prey. Highlights include the marten (Tuesday), the catagineta (Genetta genetta) and the azor (Accipiter gentilis). But it can also be captured periodically by the fox (Vulpes vulpes vulpes) when it goes down to the ground and eats.

With spring begins a time of great activity for the katagorri: on the one hand, for the need to move more in search of food, and on the other, for the beginning of zeal. At this time the males begin to look for females in the forest. After a gestation of 30 to 35 days, the female naked and weakens 4-7 small offspring in late spring or early summer, giving birth in the nest of the animal as a place of residence. This nest resembles those that build birds, especially microns (Pica pica pica). Through the union between two or three branches, they build a compact and robust circular structure of twigs and chopsticks.

They place the door to one side and down, but at the same time, at the top they leave another leak more escorted to get out of it in case of danger. And finally, the inner part of the nest is equipped with moss to achieve a more temperate and protective structure. However, and before delivery, the female also prepares the second nest, so that in case of any danger or damage in her habitual residence, she can catch the young and abandon them to the second.

At the arrival of autumn, young squirrels go to their waterfall, so in our forests it is at this time where you can observe the highest density of squirrels. In most cases they look for food on the branches, but if they do not find danger, they also easily get down to the ground to look for food. However, if something is detected that can be dangerous, they climb to a tree at full speed and hide behind some trunk or branch to periodically exit the edge and look at the enemy.

According to the above, squirrel is a forest animal in its entirety, so forests are mandatory to live. In Europe this peculiar mammal can be found almost anywhere, from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia, if there are forests. In the case of the Basque Country, except where rural areas predominate and forests are completely abandoned, we can find it anywhere, although depending on the habitat the density is variable.

The squirrel adapts perfectly to the pine silvestris (Pinus silvestris), since in it you can find pineapples throughout almost all the year, so it usually does not suffer food shortage. Likewise and apparently, it has also adapted to the pinares of insignis (Pinus radiata) from the outside. Apart from conifers, it prefers the forests of leafy than the holm oaks, to which it does not extend too much except in autumn-winter; outside this time there are no acorns, and the fruits of the rest of plants and trees of this type of forest are not so useful.

So, he prefers the beech, oak, marojales and quejigales to the holm oaks. Also the oak and mixed forests of ash, alder and other species. Consequently, in the Basque Country the Ebro is less abundant than anywhere else, limiting its residence to the appropriate forest spaces. On the other hand, in the mountainous regions, endowed with forests of rows and deciduous, its presence is increasingly frequent, on the one hand, due to the beating suffered by its natural prey and its azores, and on the other, by the current prohibition of hunting this little animal (the habit of eating squirrel in some places has gradually diminished).

Common squirrel species: Sciurus vulgaris Family:
SCANDALS:
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