Eastern Grey Squirrel - Case Study Example

EASTERN GRAY SQUIRRELS Sciurus carolinensis, the common grey squirrel or eastern grey squirrel depending on region, it isa tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus. Its original inhabitant is North America but it currently inhabits other regions. People often see it on Mississippi river’s east. They are medium sized. Males and females are of the similar color and size. Their back’s fur ranges from grizzled dark grey to pale grey and can poses red tones. The ears are pale grey to white. With a white to pale grey tail. Their below area is grey to white. Eastern grey squirrels can be differentiated from fox squirrels by their fur that is white tipped and grayish or white belly (Hamilton, 1990). They often have a lot of red in their fur. On the other hand, fox squirrels have fur that is red-tipped and red bellies. They are usually smaller than fox squirrels. Eastern grey squirrel are bigger than the red squirrels and they do not have the white eye ring around their eyes. Eastern grey squirrel like to live in expanses of mature, mixed forest. They like to have a forest canopy that is continuous (upper layers of leaves and branches) so that they can be able to forage and travel principally in the trees, rather than using the ground. At the tress they are also protected from the predators. Their population is highest in forests that have trees that produce foods that can prevail through winter storage. Walnuts, oaks, and pines are example of trees that produces these types of foods. They also utilize the tress for nests. They construct nests out of leaves. At times they utilize the cavities of the trees and holes for raising their young. The holes are also important for sheltering in extreme weather conditions. These animals can be found in temperate habitat. Terrestrial Biomes; forest. Though they can also be found in the gardens, yard, and city parks. Basically, they can be found anywhere with large and deciduous trees (Moore & Harrell, (n.d..) 1-10 or more males of gray squirrel engage in ‘mating chases’ of a female that is in estrous, usually the dominant male usually mates with the female but not always. Within a population, two breeding periods occur, one in mid-summer, and another in late winter, with litters given birth in July-August and March-April. Adult females that are 2years and over can bear one-two litters per year, yearling females just once. Following the gestation period of 40-44 days, the female bears her litter of 1-9 (average 2 or 3) in a leafy nest or in a den. They are born hairless, blind neonates and they weigh around 14-15 g, the eyes opens after 28-35 days, and by the time they begin leaving the nest, they shall have a full coat or tree cavity which is 42-49 days after birth. Not before they are 56-70 days old does the mother wean her babies (Allan, 2014). At this time, they start to disperse. The young of the summer litters can stay with the female at the time of winter. During the following summer or spring is when sexual maturity takes place. The average life expectancy at birth is 1-2 years while the average life span of an adult is approximately 6 years. Life span records are maximum at 12 year in the wild and in captivity is 20 years. The gray squirrels don’t hibernate but they instead depend on their fat reserves and cached mast so that they can prevail the long and cold winters. They can be seen out during the winter months as long as it is not too cold and as long it is not snowing or raining. Food forages are risks that are calculated in which energy (fat) utilization reserves have to yield a ‘profit’ or the vital fat insulation layer of the squirrel will be lost steadily and individual won’t be able to prevail through the winter. These squirrels are diurnal animals. Their eyes are suitable for high levels of light and their visual acuity is greater than human eyes. The eyes angling is in a way that they are pointing slightly upwards; this is an adaptation that assists them to constantly watch for avian predators (Allan, 2014). The ‘blind spot’ of the eye positioning (retina’s part where photoreceptors are absent) into the lower visual field is also believed to facilitate the squirrel with full sky view and incoming owl or hawk. The gray squirrel has a unique adaptation characteristic in that it greatly benefits from food adaptability i.e. city squirrels eats a good portion of what finds its way to the trash and the gray squirrels recognize a wide range of food and accepts new foods easily. They mostly feed on seeds, nuts, flowers and buds of different trees. The seeds that they consume usually originate from hemlock, cedar, spruce and pine. They also consume many herbaceous plants and fungi. In winter they eat crops like corn and wheat. Insects are consumed in the summer and are crucial for young squirrels (Allan, 2014). Cannibalism is also witnessed, and they can also eat bones, frogs, birds eggs and nestlings. In the winter caches, they bury food with a technique referred to as scatter hoarding. This will later be located through both memory and smell. The evolution of squirrels took place between 44 – 57 million years ago. At the time of micene era, the squirrels’ ancestors evolved. About 25 million years ago, gray squirrels became more of tree and ground dwelling species. Gray squirrel’s original origin is not known. The fossilized predecessors of squirrels are classified as ‘paramyids’, which is the earliest form rodent. These species differed in size from just a few inches to beaver sized. The beavers of modern time are the ones thought to be closest living relative to these primitive mammas (Hamilton, 1990). Nearly all activities of the current gray squirrel involve food. It is surprising to many people that the gray squirrel has variant that is black and is able to born from parents that are normal gray-furred. These types of offspring have a mutation that that brings about more melanin that concentrates in their hairs; this gives these squirrels a black look. Babies that are given birth from these types of mutants are likely to inherit this character given that it is a dominant allele. The greatest cause of the gray squirrel is because food scarcity, effects of extremely cold weather, and infection from parasites. Their natural predators are man, owls, hawks, bobcats, fox and raccoons. Their language includes a vocabulary of teasing, scolding, slow warning barks, and playful ‘clucks’. Whenever alarmed, calls will be accompanied with jerky tail movements. Squirrels utilize their calls and movements of the tail to warn others of danger, and intimidating their adversaries. The tail is used as a blanket in winter and a shade in the summer. Tail also is utilized for balance when jumping and climbing. The most important tool is the teeth. Their sharp incisors make it possible for them to gnaw through nut’s outside, as well as plastic and wood. They grow at a rate of 6 inches in a year and have to be worn down constantly by chewing and eating. Gray squirrels have a very acute senses (Moore & Harrell, (n.d..). Their hearing makes it possible for them to detect any environmental change. Their vision is powerful because of the placement of eyes on the head’s side. It is believed that they can differentiate colors, with the exception of green and red. They can see fine details in objects that are vertical. It is able to detect another gray squirrel that is 50 feet away. The life expectancy is 10 years but the average life span is around 18 months. An old squirrel would be around 4-6 years old, approximately 15-25% of squirrels that are young prevail through their first year. It is important to note that the monitoring of eastern gray squirrel has been going on for a very long time so as determine the original mutation in its family tree, but it is yet to successful. References Hamilton, H. (1990). Eastern grey squirrel (Rev. 1990. ed.). Ottawa: Canadian Wildlife Service. Mammals of Toronto: A guide to their remarkable world. (2012). Toronto: City of Toronto. Allan, L. (2014). Florida Animals for Everyday Naturalists. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. Moore, C., & Harrell, M. (n.d.). Papa Moles secrets of happiness. Hinterland whos who. (1968). Ottawa: Canadian Wildlife Service. Read More