Squirrel Tree is a member of the squirrel family (Sciuridae) which is usually referred to simply as a "squirrel". They include more than a hundred arboreal species that originate from all continents except Antarctica and Oceania. They do not form a single group, or a single monophyletic; they relate to others in squirrel families, including ground squirrels, flying squirrels, guinea pigs, and squirrels. The decisive characteristic used to determine Sciuridae species is tree squirrels depending on their habitat rather than their physiology. Squirrel trees live among the trees, compared with those who live in burrows on the ground or among the rocks. The exception is a flying squirrel who also makes his home in the trees, but has a physiological difference that separates it from his tree squirrel cousin: a special skin flake called patagia, which acts as a launching wing, allowing flight.
The most famous tree squirrel genus is Sciurus , which includes the North American gray squirrel (introduced to Great Britain in 1876), Eurasian red squirrels, and North American fox squirrels, among many others. Many species of tree squirrels have adapted to human-altered environments such as rural farming, suburban backyards and city parks; and because they are diurnal (active during the day) they have become perhaps the most familiar animal by most humans.
Video Tree squirrel
Classification
Rodent Guy G. Musser explains the use of "squirrels" and related terms:
Squirrel families include ground squirrels, squirrels, guinea pigs, prairie dogs, and flying squirrels, but for most people the "squirrel" refers to 122 species of tree squirrels, which belong to the 22 genus Sciurinae subfamily.
The current taxonomy, based on genetic data, divides tree squirrels into subfamilies. The following genera from squirrel families are classified as tree squirrels.
- Subfamily of Ratufinae
- The genus Ratufa (Asian giant squirrel)
- Sciurillinae subfamily
- Genus Sciurillus (South American dwarf squirrel)
- Sciurinae subfamily
- The Sciurini tribe (mostly American squirrels)
- Genus Microsciurus (American dwarf squirrels)
- Genus Rheithrosciurus (Ground tilted earthen squirrel)
- Genus Sciurus (Eurasia and American tree squirrels)
- Genus Syntheosciurus (Central America mountain squirrel)
- Genus Tamiasciurus (American pine tree squirrel)
- The Sciurini tribe (mostly American squirrels)
- Callosciurinae subfamily (Asian tree squirrels)
- Genus Callosciurus (Oriental tree squirrels, introduced into Europe and South America)
- Genus Exilisciurus (Asian dwarf squirrel)
- The genus Funambulus (Asian palm squirrels, introduced to Australia in the 1920s)
- Genus Glyphotes (squirrel sculptor)
- Genus Nannosciurus (Asian dwarf squirrel)
- Genus Prosciurillus (Elderly squirrel Sulawesi)
- Genus Rubrisciurus (Eldest of Sulawesi giants)
- Genus Sundasciurus (Sunda squirrels)
- Genus Tamiops (Asian Striped Squirrels)
- Xerinae subfamily
- The Protoxerini Tribe (African tree squirrels)
- Genus Epixerus (African palm squirrel)
- Genus Funisciurus (rope squirrel)
- Genus Heliosciurus (sun squirrel)
- Genus Myosciurus (African pygmy squirrel)
- Genus Paraxerus (bush squirrels)
- Genus Protoxerus (African giant squirrel)
- The Protoxerini Tribe (African tree squirrels)
Maps Tree squirrel
Relationships with humans
Squirrel is a generally curious and persistent animal. In a residential neighborhood, they are notorious for being diligent in avoiding obstacles to eating from bird feeders. Although they are expert climbers, and especially arboreal, some squirrel species also thrive in urban environments, where they have adapted to humans.
As pest
Squirrel is sometimes regarded as a pest because of their tendency to chew a variety of edible and edible objects, and their stubborn persistence in trying to get what they want. Their gnawing features also help maintain sharp teeth, and because their teeth grow continuously, preventing overgrowth. Sometimes, the squirrel will chew the plastic and even the metal to get to the food.
Tree squirrels can bury food on the ground to be picked up later. Birds, especially crows, occasionally see squirrels burying peanuts, then dig them as soon as the squirrel is gone. Squirrel uses their sense of smell to search for buried food, but can dig many holes in the process. This can be a nuisance to gardeners with strict landscaping requirements, especially when gardens contain edibles.
Homeowners in areas with heavy squirrel populations should be vigilant in keeping attics, dungeons, and warehouses carefully sealed to prevent property damage caused by nested squirrels. Squirrel nest is called "drey".
Squirrel is a serious fire hazard when they enter the building. They often treat open electrical wires as tree limbs, and gnaw on electrical insulation. The resulting open conductor may become short, causing a fire. For this reason alone, a squirrel nest in the building can not be safely ignored. Squirrel nests will also cause problems with noise, dirt, unpleasant odors, and structural damage that eventually occurs.
Some homeowners use more interesting ways to deal with this problem, such as collecting and placing fur from pets such as domestic cats and dogs in the attic. It is hoped that these feathers will show the squirrels lay eggs that potential predators roam, and will encourage evacuation. Insect repellents, including mothballs and ammonia, are generally ineffective in expelling squirrels from buildings.
Once established in the nest, the stubborn squirrel ignores the owls and the fake scarecrows, along with bright flashes of light, loud noises, and ultrasonic or electromagnetic devices. However, squirrels must leave the nest for food and water (usually every day, except in bad weather), allowing them to trap them or exclude them from re-entry.
To prevent chewing an object, it can be coated or covered with something to make it unpleasant: for example a soft cloth doused with chili powder or powder. Capsaicin and Ro-pel are other forms of repellent. To remain effective, the coating should be updated regularly, especially if exposed to the weather. A poison squirrel can be a problem because of the risk to an innocent party, and because the smell of dead squirrels in the attic or wall cavity is very unpleasant and persistent.
Traps are often needed to remove squirrels from residential structures. Effective feeds include fruit, peanut butter, peanuts, seeds and vanilla extract.
An alternative method is to wait until the squirrels go for food, and then close all their access openings, or to install a one-way trap door or a careful pipe angle. Trying to get rid of all the squirrels in an environment is generally a futile goal; the focus should be on the physical not including them from the place where they can do damage. There are other humane techniques for removing squirrels from buildings, but removal is ineffective unless steps are taken to prevent them from breaking in again.
Squirrel is often the cause of power outages. They can easily climb the power poles and crawl or run along the power lines. Animals will rise to a power transformer or capacitor looking for food, or a place to store acorns. If they touch high-voltage conductors and grounded earthing parts at the same time, they are electrocuted, and often cause short circuit-kicking devices. Squirrels have dropped the high-tech NASDAQ stock market twice and are responsible for a spate of power cuts at the University of Alabama. To sharpen his teeth, squirrels will often chew tree branches or even occasional live electricity. Rubber or plastic plates, or free-spinning arms ("squirrel guards") are sometimes used to prevent access to this facility.
The reverse squirrels seem to be safe and inflict virtually zero risk of rabies transmission.
Squirrel causes economic losses for homeowners, peanut farmers, and forest managers in addition to damage to electrical transmission lines. These losses include direct damage to property, repairs, loss of income and public relations. While the dollar cost of these losses is sometimes calculated for isolated incidents, there is no tracking system to determine the total loss rate.
As roadkill and traffic hazard
In areas where squirrels are many, flat road tires are a common sight on the highway, especially in spring and autumn, when there are fresh plants from young rodents. Motorists have caused serious accidents by trying to turn or stop to avoid squirrels on the road. Maneuvering is difficult because squirrels are much more agile and have faster reaction times than riders in heavy vehicles; the majority of vehicle meetings end without harm to either party.
The effort to reduce these dangers to squirrels and humans is the Nutty Narrows Bridge in Longview, Washington, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It provides a way for squirrels to cross a busy street safely.
As urban wildlife
Tree squirrels are a common type of urban wildlife. They can be trained to be fed by hand and will take as much food as they can because they have the advantage. Squirrels living in parks and campuses in cities have learned that humans are usually a ready source of food. In 2013, there is a rapidly growing population just outside the eastern gate of Kensington Palace. At that time, it was common for them to take food out of a stable and open hand. Often, they will eat offerings where they sit, then wait for more, instead of running away.
Urban squirrels have learned to get a lot of food from a generous or unconscious human being. The usual foods are nuts, but recent research shows that raw beans contain trypsin inhibitors that prevent the absorption of proteins in the gut. Therefore, offering baked beans is a better choice. However, wildlife rehabilitators in the field have noted that both raw nuts and roasted peanuts or sunflower seeds are unhealthy for squirrels, as they lack some of the essential nutrients. This type of deficiency has been found to cause metabolic bone disease, a disease commonly found in malnourished squirrels.
As food
Di AS
Squirrel meat is considered a favorite meat in certain areas of the United States where it can be listed as a wild game. This is evidenced by a number of recipes for preparation (eg, Brunswick stew) found in cookbooks, including James Beard's American Cookery and coffee before 1997 from The Joy of Cooking . Squirrel meat can be substituted for rabbits or chickens in many recipes, although it may have a flavored game if not handled properly.
Despite the low-fat squirrel meat, unlike most game meats found by the American Heart Association to have high cholesterol.
In many areas US squirrels are still hunted for food, as in previous years. Squirrel meat is the ingredient in the original recipe for Brunswick stew, a popular dish in different parts of South America. Other similar stews are also based on squirrel meat, including southern Illinois burgoo and chowder.
Squirrels hosts unlimited World Championship Squirrel cook-offs annually in Bentonville, _Arkansas.
In the United Kingdom
For much of England's history, squirrels have become unusual flesh eaten, and even scorned by many.
But in the early 21st century, wild squirrels have become more popular meat to be cooked, appearing in restaurants and shops more often in England as a fashionable alternative meat. In particular, Britons cook with invasive gray squirrels, who are praised for their low fat content and the fact that it comes from free-range sources. In addition, novelty of unusual or extraordinary meat has been added to the spread of squirrel consumption. Because of the difficulty of killing the cleaner and other factors, the majority of squirrels eaten in England are obtained from professional hunters, trappers, and goalkeepers.
Some Britons eat gray squirrels as a direct attempt to help the original red squirrel, which has diminished since the introduction of a gray squirrel in the 19th century, resulting in a dramatic loss of habitat for native red squirrels. This factor is marketed by a national "Save Our Squirrels" campaign that uses the slogan, "Save red, eat gray!"
Food risk
As with other wildlife and fish species, consumption of squirrels exposed to high levels of pollution or toxic waste poses a health risk to humans. In 2007 at the Ringwood community in New Jersey, New Jersey, the Department of Health and Senior Services issued a warning to anyone who ate squirrels (especially for children and pregnant women) to limit their consumption after tin contaminated squirrels were found near the Mine Spill Ringwood. Toxic waste has been illegally disposed of in this location for years, before the authorities cracked down on this practice in the 1980s. Such warnings mainly affect local Indian Ramapough Mountain, which has been hunting and consuming squirrels from before European contacts. Hunting and eating squirrels are regarded as one of the traditions of people who are respected today, connecting them through the process of cultural identity to their ancestors, and to each other. While studying the ban on eating squirrel meat, a member of the Ramapough tribe told a reporter, "I feel my ancestors disappeared, my legacy".
In 1997, doctors in Kentucky warned of the possible danger of eating a squirrel's brain, which is considered a folk food in the region. In the western part of the state, doctors find the incidence of the greatly increasing Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare but seriously visible prion disorder that causes dementia and eventual death. The so-called "mad squirrel disease" can be difficult to distinguish from ordinary squirrel behavior, but can be more common among hijacked animals. Some squirrel eaters have special rituals to prepare and eat the brain, while others avoid eating altogether.
In culture
Squirrel is a popular character in various forms of media. The earliest cultural reference for certain named squirrels is Ratatoskr , Norse mythical squirrels carrying messages by running up and down the world tree Yggdrasil . The myth of Ratatoskr originated in the Early Middle Ages, and probably earlier.
Literary references for squirrels include the work of Beatrix Potter, Redwall Brian Jacques series (including Jess Squirrel and many other squirrels), Pattertwig in CS Lewis' Prince Caspian , Wood Todock Saga by Michael Tod featuring squirrel community in style Watership Down , and Starwife and his subject from the Deptford Robin Jarvis novel. The title character in the 1968 children's book Miriam Young Miss Suzy is a squirrel.
Squirrel is also a popular character in cartoons, such as the Scrat of Ice Age, Slappy Squirrel from Animaniacs Sandy Cheeks from SpongeBob SquarePants Hammy from Over the Hedge, Benny on The Wild, Rodney and Leon and Darlene from Squirrel Boy Secret Squirrel, Screwy Squirrel, Nutty from Happy Tree Friends , and Rocky's adventure partner, Bullwinkle. The bubble from the cartoon The Powerpuff Girls has the superhero ability to communicate with the squirrel, which he does by saying "Chee chee, chee, chee chee, chee, chee...".
Video games include squirrel characters such as the Rare Conker series, starring Conker the Squirrel, as well as Ocean Software's Mr. Nutz. There's even a super hero squirrel-themed, Squirrel Girl. The popular Pokémon game mon includes a squirrel-like character with the name Pachirisu.
There are also many references to squirrels in the music industry, including the North Carolina Squirrel Nut Zippers group, the electronics group Techno Squirrels, the now-defunct Florida band called For Squirrels (who claimed they played their music for squirrels), the children of a band called The Nutty Squirrels, and even record labels under the name Blank Squirrel Musics. There is also a student-run radio station at Kent State University called Black Squirrel Radio.
An anthropomorphic red squirrel was used in a British road safety campaign between the 1950s and 1980s.
An episode of this American Life radio program called the "Squirrel Cop" illustrates the funny, unintentional misfortune of a newly hired cop in an attempt to remove a panicked squirrel from the living room of the householder, causing personal injury. and a small fire. First aired in 1998, this episode turned out to be one of the most popular of the series, prompting a re-broadcast and lead position on the two-CD compilation of Crimebusters Crossed Wires: The Story from This American Life .
Squirrel has a remarkable sense of smell. It is believed to be the reason behind the popular phrase "even a blind squirrel finds a nut."
Albino and white squirrel
One way that affects human squirrel society is inspired by the attraction that people seem to have over a local population of white squirrels (often misidentified as albino). It manifests itself with the creation of a community of social groups formed from common interests common to these endangered animals. Other impacts on human societies inspired by white squirrels include the creation of organizations that seek to protect them from human predation, and the use of white squirrel images as cultural icons.
Although these squirrels are often referred to as "albino," most of them are non-albino squirrels that exhibit the color of a rare white fur known as leucism which is the result of a recessive gene found in certain Eastern gray squirrels ( Sciurus carolinensis ) population, and technically they should be referred to as white squirrel instead of albino .
A project run by Untamed Science seeks to report and document the occurrence of both white squirrels, albino, and other sulfur morphs. Users are encouraged to submit their sightings.
Local pride
Olney, Illinois, known as "The Capital of the White Squirrel World", is the home of the largest white squirrel colony known in the world. These squirrels have street rights in all the streets of the city, with a $ 500 fine to hit one. Olney Police Department displayed a white squirrel image in its uniform uniform.
Together with Olney, there are four other cities in North America competing with each other to become the official "White House Squirrel": Marionville, Missouri; Brevard, North Carolina; Exeter, Ontario; and Kenton, Tennessee, which each host an annual white squirrel festival, among others designed to promote their claim of "White Squirrel Capital".
The list of white squirrel apparitions around the world is managed by the White Squirrel Research Institute, a group based in Brevard, North Carolina.
Other cities have reported white squirrel populations in North America (though not necessarily competing to be "official" white squirrel capital) including Bowling Green, Kentucky; Columbia, Mississippi; Dayton, Ohio; DeForest, Wisconsin; Queenstown, Maryland; Stratford, Connecticut; and several snowy cities in the West, Central and Finger Lakes of New York State (Buffalo, Rochester, Ithaca and Syracuse). White squirrels are also seen in Broad Ripple Village, Indianapolis.
Campus population
In addition to the various cities that boast of their white squirrel population, a number of university campuses in North America have white squirrels. The University of Texas at Austin is home to a white squirrel population that has spurred the myth of an albino squirrel as a lucky charm. There are many versions of this story; one of the more popular versions is if someone sees an albino squirrel before the exam, they will get it. The University of North Texas founded Albino Squirrel Preservation Society in 2001, which has since earned several chapters "worldwide". In 2006, the University of North Texas held a student referendum to name their white squirrels as the university's secondary mascot, but the vote was narrowly lost by the student body. University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire has a significant white squirrel population both on campus and in other areas of Eau Claire town. Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan is home to the often-seen white squirrels that live in and around the campus. A Facebook group dedicated to these squirrels, called I've Seen Albino Squirrels from Michigan Tech , was created for people to post photos and anecdotes from their encounters with white squirrels, and include some stories from Michigan Alumni technology that recalls seeing white squirrels in Houghton dating back to the 1930s.
In Kentucky, the University of Louisville has formed its own chapter of the Albino Squirrel Preservation Society, which maintains contacts with its members and interested parties through a Facebook group with that name. The University has an open policy of giving free t-shirts to anyone who takes a white squirrel photo on the campus page and takes it to the administration office.
Other university campuses that have albino squirrel populations include Oberlin College in Ohio, Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky (which has populations of albino squirrels since the 1960s), and Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio.
Dr Michael Stokes, a professor of biology at Western Kentucky University, commented that the probable cause of many white squirrels on university campuses was because they were originally introduced by someone: "We're not sure how they got here, but I'm 'I'll tell you how it usually happens... When you see them, especially around the campus or park, someone brings them in because they think it would be neat to have a white squirrel around it. "
Dr Albert Meier, another professor of biology at Western Kentucky University, added: "... white squirrels seldom survive in the wild because they can not easily hide, but on campus they tend not to be consumed by others. animal. "
In folklore
A story where a N? Ga was transformed into a white squirrel or albino, killed by a hunter, and magically transformed into a meat equivalent to 8,000 prominent figure carts in the folklore tradition of rocket festivals and the origins of Lake Nong Han Kumphawapi in Northeast Thailand.
Red and gray squirrels in the UK
The decline of red squirrels and the appearance of Eastern gray squirrels, a species introduced from North America, has been widely mentioned in popular British culture. It is largely regarded as a gray attack against the original red species. The evidence also shows that a gray squirrel is a vector of a squirrel parapoxvirus that is currently no vaccine, and which is deadly to red squirrels but does not seem to affect a non-native host. Currently, the range of red squirrels has been reduced to the forests including needle tree species in Scotland, and in the British Formby, Lake District, Brownsea Island, and Isle of Wight. The majority of British red squirrels are found in the Northumberland area. Specific steps are taken to resist and remove gray squirrel infiltration into these areas. Although the population has dropped dramatically, they remain listed on the IUCN Red List as Small Disadvantages.
Since the Eastern gray squirrel is considered a pest, it is illegal to release anything into the wild; whoever gets caught must be killed humanely.
See also
- American red squirrel
- Black squirrel
- Eastern gray squirrel
- Fox squirrel
- Red squirrel
- Squirrel
- Western gray squirrel
References
- Foot Records
- Source
Literature quoted
Andy Duff & amp; Ann Lawson (2004). World Mammals: Checklist . A & amp; C Black. ISBNÃ, 0-7136-6021-X.
External reference
- The Squirrel Lovers Club, an international squirrel fan club.
- Squirrel-Rehab.org, including suggestions and links to help the orphan baby squirrel.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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