Squirrel Appreciation Day January 21st 2020

Sciurus granatensis found in Trinidad and Tobago and also found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama and Venezuela. Sciurus granatensis is found in habitats ranging from tropical forests to croplands. They are terrestrial animals and are found both on the ground and in trees but are more common in trees.

The red-tailed squirrel is a medium-sized tree squirrel with a conspicuous orange-red tail. Fur is short and colour varies. Fur colour is usually reddish brown but some squirrels have darker coloured skin and may be black. Their tail colour is rusty red or orange and some have a black coloured tip. These squirrels have a broad skull with a long rostrum and nasals.

They are solitary animals and are rarely seen in groups, they are social only during breeding seasons. Social behaviour is also exhibited when mothers are with their young. Groups may be observed at feeding aggregations however a large space of several metres is maintained between squirrels.

As diurnal animals most of their activity occurs above ground on trees. These include feeding and travelling. They feed approximately 30 metres above ground. Tree trunks and vines are used to travel throughout the forest. They travel by running along trees and vines and leaping from tree to tree

Their diet includes fruits, hard nuts, twigs, flowers and leaves as well as tree frog eggs. They feed on as many as 58 species of plants. Fruits include mangoes, avocados, bananas, guava and coconut. Insect larvae are also fed on occasionally.

Foraging occurs between sunrise and sunset from approximately 6:30 am to midday. They resume foraging in late afternoon till sunset. They forage by breaking large, decaying tree trunks and vines to reach insect larvae inside. They crack the hard shells of nuts by gnawing through the shell and feed on the inner seed. When fruits are taken from the ground, the squirrel climbs up several metres above the ground to feed.

Sciurus granatensis are generally silent animals. They do have several distinctive calls and communicate vocally. They make short, hoarse notes when frightened or as an alarm of predators. They also have distinct vocal mating calls. These include grunts, chucks and squeals. Visual communication is done by tail gestures. They use their tails as signalling devices to communicate with other squirrels. They do this by tail-flicking. This is also done to ward off predators. They also mark regular routes travelled with urine. This is a method of territory marking as well as to attract mates during breeding season.

The gestation period of Sciurus granatensis lasts less than two months. Females give birth to two or three young. Babies are reared by mothers with no assistance from males.