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.
