Squirrels

 While squirrels might seem like pests to a majority of people, these animals are actually very fascinating. When discussing information about squirrels, it is important to note that there isn't just one kind, there are actually many species. Due to their adaptability, squirrels live across the entire world, from the tropics to the northern reaches. Squirrels are technically any animal belonging to the taxonomic family “Sciuridae”, which includes praerie dogs, woodchucks, chipmunks, and marmots, but the tree squirrel is the most common form of the group, so this is what is generally referred to as a “squirrel”.

There are actually many different types of tree squirrels, and the range of sizes from largest to smallest is actually quite broad. Most people don't know this about squirrels, but the largest species actually reaches a maximum size of almost four feet long! This species is the black giant squirrel of East Asia, and it lives in the dense rainforests of Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, and other countries in that area. The smallest squirrell, by contrast, is the African pygmy squirrel which reaches a maximum size of only four to five inches. By contrast, the maximum size of the Eastern Gray Squirrel of the United States is about one and a half feet.

Many species of tree squirrels are known for something considered characteristic of the Eastern Gray Squirrel. This is the behavior known as “scatter-hoarding”, which involves digging lots of little holes filled with food to be returned to later. Contrary to popular knowledge about squirrels, they often remember the majority of the holes they've dug and generally retrieve most of their hidden food. Squirrels are very good at using landmarks to locate the holes they've dug, and once they get close they use their extremely strong sense of smell to lead them the rest of the way. In general, squirrels consume seeds fallen from trees, which often germinate the instant they are buried. In order to prevent this from happening, squirrels need to damage the seed in order to prevent it from germinating, but not enough that it won't stay preserved in the ground. Squirrels have discovered ingenious ways of doing this with every particular seed they come across, and no matter what way trees evolve to stop them, the inquisitive little rodents usually figure out how to overcome it.

One of the most interesting facts about squirrels is a bit of information that has been discovered very recently. These little animals might hold the key to curing cancer. Cancer is usually more present in long-lived animals because this gives the cancer a much longer time to grow. Squirrels actually have both a long life span (up to 25 years in captivity) and a very active amount of a substance called telomerase that promotes cell growth, which is characteristic of rodents. Normally a long-lived animal with such a high rate of cell growth would be infested with cancer, because cancer is basically uncontrolled cell growth. But for some reason squirrels are almost never shown to be infected.

While all of this information about squirrels is fascinating, it is still important to note that humans can't always get along with them. They generally like to house themselves in warm, safe places , which can often include human habitations. Care should be taken if a human comes across a squirrel nest, because if there are babies, the mother may attack in alarm. There is no reason why humans and squirrels can't live peacefully, but like with any animal, both parties must act sensibly.