Squirrels
There are red squirrels and grey squirrels in the United Kingdom.
A red squirrel |
A grey squirrel |
For image credits see bottom of the page.
Red squirrel facts
Red squirrels mainly live in Scotland.
They like to eat berries and mushrooms. They also like seeds from spruce and pine trees. They even eat bark and the sticky sap from inside trees!
Lots of people love them as they are so cute!
Photo from Pixabay is in the public domain.
Beatrix Potter wrote a book about a red squirrel called 'Squirrel Nutkin'. She wrote it in 1903. Lots of children still read 'Squirrel Nutkin' today.
Grey squirrel facts
They mainly live in England and Wales.
They mainly live in England and Wales.
Photo by David Iliff. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
They like to eat acorns, flowers, nuts, fruits and roots. They eat sticky sap from inside trees, too!
Lots of people love them because they are playful animals. People like to see a bit of wildlife in towns.
Some people hate grey squirrels. The grey squirrel has been blamed for there being fewer and fewer red squirrels. Greys are better than reds at getting food. |
Photo from Pixabay is in the public domain.
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Facts about greys and reds
Squirrels can use their tails to help them balance.
They can go down a tree head-first.
They can find hidden food even under snow.
Photo from Pixabay is in the public domain.
In autumn, squirrels store some food underground so they can eat in winter.
Squirrels sometimes keep more than one nest (or drey) at a time. This is in case one gets stolen or blown away. This also makes it harder for predators to find them.
Image credits for UK map: By Source:File:British Isles all.svg by CnbrbFile:United Kingdom countries.svg by Rob984Derived work:Offnfopt - United Kingdom countries.svg,
Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.