Envision this … you’re trying to walk quietly through the bush; maybe you’re hunting grouse … Next thing you hear is a squirrel, challenging you not to come any closer.
This column is about the red squirrel, also known as Tamiasciurus hudsonicus. They inhabit the boreal forest from the Atlantic to the Pacific, ranging north to the treeline and south into the mountains of the eastern and western United States. If there are lots of white-spruce-tree cones available, there could be up to two or three squirrels per hectare (1 hectare is nearly 2.5 acres). In August and September, squirrels harvest the green cones before the seeds start to fall out: they chew the seeds out from the cones and can harvest up to 16,000 of them in one season. Those voicy mammals, belonging to the rodent family, can cut one spruce cone per second and eat 40 to 50 cones a day in the wintertime. Sometimes they make small stockpiles, scattered about in their territory, but most often they stash all of their cones in one central depot called a midden. Middens are the bits and bracts from the cones they have already eaten. Squirrels also eat buds, flowers, mushrooms (I’m sure you’ve seen a mushroom stuck at eye level in the branch of a tree!), aspen buds, lichens and berries. They also won’t say no to meat, therefore going after birds’ eggs and young birds, as well. Insect larvae and wasps are also welcome. Their predators are bigger birds such as hawks, harriers and kestrels, as well as lynx, coyotes, wolves, ermine, marten and fisher.
In B.C., squirrels might have two to three litters a year; in the Yukon, just one. A squirrel, therefore, only mates one day in the year, usually between late March and mid-May. A month later, she’ll give birth to three or four young. In another four weeks, the young are covered in fine fur and their eyes are open. They’ll remain with their mother until August. If they aren’t able to find a new territory before winter sets in, or if there is a poor cone year, then they’ll try to make it through the winter by eating buds, sap, the inner bark of spruce trees, mushrooms and rotting cones. An adult squirrel weighs about 280 grams. When it gets really cold, they will burrow in their middens and increase their metabolic rate by three to four times, in order to burn enough energy to stay warm.
You can hear squirrels chattering throughout all of the seasons. In springtime, intruders and potential mates are being chased and we see that as a high-speed tag. When you approach their territory, they will let you know. You’ll hear their “chuck-chuck” and see the body jerks and tail flicks. If you get too close, they’ll aggressively start stamping their feet, their body quivering as they make a ruckus. Squirrels scold you while they go up and down the trees, barking and muttering. They will defend their patch of forest to the utmost.
ARE SQUIRRELS HELPFUL?
Cons: Those “Timber Tigers” are vicious (in trying to eat young birds and bird eggs), and they also want to get into your cabin! Not all Yukon cabins are completely squirrel-proof, so when you show up after having been gone for a few months, you might have to pick up the broom, the dustpan and a big bucket in order to remove the foot-high spruce-cone refuse, the bracts and bits, droppings, chewed-up insulation and plastic. You’ll need soap and water to clean-up their urine too.
Pros: On the other hand, squirrels may warn you! One time, I was on my way to the outhouse when a squirrel started barking. I thought, I’m not that close yet—and, sure enough, a big black bear was wandering past the outhouse, minding his own business. So, when it doesn’t feel right, look up and around you.
In the meantime, get outside and see if you can find a squirrel’s “dinner plate” (a.k.a. stump) with chewed-up cones on top of it.
Squirrels are good eating (make a casserole!). Their fur is used as a trim or for a coat lining, and can even be made into light garments. Some might try to incorporate it into their knitting! I have tanned squirrels before and have made simple jewelery such as earrings, necklaces and bangles.
Sonja Seeber, Yukon Trapper
