January 7, 2000

     The Red Squirrel

Red squirrels prefer evergreen forests and, consequently, are not as abundant in southern Minnesota as farther north.  Although they store cones and nuts under tree roots or in underground burrows, they also will tunnel through snow to search for nuts on the ground or to have safe and easy access to a shrub or tree that has fruits.

Individuals might eat eggs, young birds, and the young of cottontail rabbits and gray squirrels, but in general they are vegetarians and do not deserve the bad reputation that a few have gained.  They perform a service in forests, because many of the seeds they bury remain in the ground and eventual become trees.  The territory range of a red squirrel is small, seldom more than 400 feet in diameter.  Like the blue jay, it is a sentinel of the forest.  If anything unusual is going on in a red squirrel's territory, it responds with loud chattering and scolding.