8 Reasons to Appreciate Squirrels

 

In these COVID-19 times,  my wife and I have developed a greater awareness and by extension a greater appreciation for nature in our own backyard. We’ve found that being mindful of the things we use to take for granted in the yard makes us feel more at ease, reduces stress and brings about feelings of harmony and calm.

We’ve realized to a greater degree that our backyard is not really a “yard” at all. It is our habitat, an extension of our home and part of a larger ecological region. Our yard has become a source of peacefulness, and the center of wondrous enjoyment. It has shown us the marvels and idiosyncrasies of nature’s creatures. 

For example, squirrels were always part of the scenery, but we’ve never appreciated them as much as we do now because of what we’ve discovered about these ordinary—yet extraordinary creatures.

Here are 8 reasons to appreciate squirrels.

1. They help our planet by planting trees

Did you know that squirrels are agents of reforestation? They love acorns – which they bury in various places to snack on in the cold winter months. But they don’t always come back for them – in fact, squirrels may fail to recover up to 74 percent of nuts they bury!

While this may be frustrating for the little guys, their forgetfulness is really good for the planet – because these buried acorns eventually turn into oak trees.

2. Squirrels are highly intelligent animals

Contrary to popular belief, squirrels are very smart! Did you know they practice “deceptive caching?” It’s a little trick they use to fool would-be thieves. Squirrels pretend to bury a nut or (any other tidbit) by digging a small hole and covering it up as if they had hidden it – only that they don’t drop it in. Genius!

3. They’re more organized than us

A study found that some squirrel species cache their nuts according to type, with designated places to hide different types of nuts! The squirrels were given pecans, almonds, walnuts, and hazelnuts – and each nut was sorted and stored in various hiding places according to type. Yup, that’s squirrels being more organized than I’ll ever be.

4. Squirrels are the acrobats in the branches

The squirrel does not know he is not a bird. After all, squirrels live in trees just like birds and build nests called dreys. They leap like trapeze artists from tree to tree. Even if they fall (which is rare), they can come down 30 feet without getting hurt.

5. Squirrels can jump vertically five feet, and can leap between objects that are over ten feet apart.

Given that squirrels are less than 1/10th the size of people, if you could do this, you would be a superhero who could literally jump onto five story buildings and clear buses and trucks in a single bound.

6. Squirrels can sprint faster than us.

Unless you’re Usain Bolt, in which case you’re probably faster than a squirrel. But can you run vertically up a tree at 12 mph? I didn't think so. 😉

7. Squirrels are good swimmers.

Although they usually prefer not to.

Except for Twiggy, the water-skiing squirrel.

 

8. The college I went to had a rare white unicorn squirrel in its central square.

I saw it once, and it was one of the best days of my life.

A bonus reason: The noun squirrel evolved into an adjective describing a human being who is hyperactive, fidgety or nervous. For example,  "That I was a squirrelly kid whose need to leap from the piano bench, run outside and roll around in the mud would sooner or later kill my chances of doing something meaningful with music."

I hope the next time you see a squirrel in your backyard or in a park that you’ll be filled with delight knowing more about these amazing little guys.

Make it a snappy new day!

Peter Karl