Five facts about squirrels that might just amaze you!

It's National Squirrel Appreciation Day!

The pocket-sized rodents are frequently spotted in parks, gardens and trees throughout the UK and in many countries around the world, but how much do you know about them?

Here are some fascinating facts about our fluffy-tailed friends!

1. There are over 280 squirrel species!

The Indian giant squirrel is also known as the giant purple squirrel due to it's unique colouring.

You will no doubt have spotted a common grey tree squirrel leaping from branch to branch in a park near you. But there are hundreds more species found in different parts of the world.

The largest is the Indian giant squirrel, also known as the Malabar giant squirrel, which can reach up to 90 centimetres in length from head to the tip of their tails!

The smallest is the African pygmy squirrel which only reaches around 12 centimetres long! Cute!

2. Their teeth never stop growing

It's not just nuts and seeds - you might be surprised at what a squirrel eats...

Squirrels have four large front teeth that carry on growing throughout their lives.

This is to prevent them from wearing down while they are munching away on nuts, seeds and other woody items.

They are not vegetarians though - they also eat bird eggs and even baby birds. Some also find tree sap a tasty treat!

3. Squirrels unintentionally plant new trees

'Did I leave my stash of acorns in here?'

Squirrels can be forgetful creatures! They often bury acorns in the ground in order to store them away for colder months when food is more hard to come by.

However, they only recover around 70% of them, meaning around one in three scurried away acorns are left to grow into new oak trees!

4. Red squirrels and grey squirrels cannot live together

Here in the UK, the more common grey squirrel is a bit of a nuisance to the rare red variety which is surprising when you discover the red ones were here first!

Red squirrels are the UK's native species and have lived here for around 10,000 years. Whereas the grey squirrels were introduced into the UK from America in the 1800s.

Sadly, due to grey squirrels high breeding numbers and larger, more robust bodies they manage to snaffle the best food first, and numbers of red squirrel have been dropping.

There are thought to be around 140,000 red squirrel in the UK compared to around 2.5 million of the grey species.

The more common grey squirrels also carry the squirrel pox virus which can kill red squirrels but is harmless to the grey ones.

5. Squirrels are great communicators

Grey squirrels have fast become the dominant species in the UK since their introduction in the 1800s.

Depending on the species, squirrels use their "voices" in a variety of ways.

Some 'bark', while others 'quack'. Many 'squeak' and others 'squeal'.

But the most common form of communication between squirrels is through their fluffy tails.

They use them as signalling devices, twitching them if they become suspicious of threats.

Another use for their tails is to wrap themselves up and keep them warm in cold, wet weather.

They also help them stay balanced when leaping from tree to tree.

Amazing hey!?

Do you love squirrels? Show your appreciation for them using the comments section below!