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Squirrel Appreciation Day

Sara

Did you know that January 21 is Squirrel Appreciation Day? While some may not always appreciate this nutty little rodent for stealing birdseed and their terrorizing antics, squirrels play an important ecological role. Plus, they are highly entertaining to watch, especially for children. In honor of these little nuts, we thought it’d be fun to share a few fun facts about squirrels, a couple of squirrel jokes, some favorite squirrel books for kids, and even a few squirrel-themed games, crafts and snacks you could enjoy with your kids. Every squirrel deserves its day, so let’s show our appreciation!

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National Squirrel Appreciation Day 

National Squirrel Appreciation Day is a creation by Christy Hargrove, a wildlife rehabilitation specialist from Ashville, North Carolina. National Squirrel Appreciation Day on January 21 is a day to learn about and celebrate the world’s cutest rodents. The day is celebrated to encourage kind attitudes towards our bushy-tailed neighbors by setting out food and water for squirrels, and even allowing them to play with that bird-feeder you normally don’t want them touching. Squirrels may be seen as nuisances, but their existence is actually beneficial to the environment, and in urban areas, assists in park beautification. 

15 fun facts about squirrels

There’s a surprising amount of information that I didn’t know about squirrels. Here are a few fun facts about squirrels that you can share with your children to get them interested in the animals and ready to celebrate their own squirrel day holiday. 

  1. There are about 200 species of squirrels in the world. There are about 10 tree species in North America. The lifespan of a squirrel is about nine years.
  2. A squirrel has 2 to 4 babies at a time and can raise two litters of “kits” per year. Baby squirrels are born blind without fur.  A baby squirrel is totally dependent on its mother until about three months old.
  3. A squirrel’s four front teeth never stop growing. – This is a common characteristic of other rodents, as well. If their top and bottom teeth don’t line up correctly their ongoing growth can cause major health problems for a squirrel such that it may drool excessively or be incapable of closing its mouth, leading to difficulty eating and starvation.
  4. Squirrels are hoarders and bury their nuts, one at a time, scattered around their territory. Squirrels have a difficult time keeping an eye on all their hidden food and may lose 25% of their food to thieves. In the winter they can smell their food buried under a foot of snow. To look for nuts they’ve buried in the past, squirrels use visual landmarks like particular trees, rocks and streams.
  5. Squirrels have been observed engaging in “deceptive caching” and may pretend to bury a nut to throw off potential thieves. Sometimes squirrels dig a hole and vigorously cover it up again, but without depositing the nut to throw off potential food thieves.
  6. Squirrels don’t always dig up all of their buried nuts, which results in trees! They have accidentally contributed countless trees to our nation’s parks and forests. If you ask us, that’s a pretty great reason alone to appreciate squirrels.
  7. When squirrels feel threatened or want to escape predators, they run away in a zigzag pattern. This is an incredibly useful strategy to escape hawks and other predators. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work so well on cars. Consider slowing down and giving squirrels a break!
  8. Squirrel paws are hand-like, with little primitive thumbs and strong claws for grasping at tree bark. These features, combined with a squirrel’s ability to rotate its hind feet 180 degrees, allow the animal to descend head-first from a tree.
  9. Squirrels are acrobatic, intelligent, and adaptable. Their nimble hands make it easy for squirrels to steal from birdfeeders, particularly platforms or cage-like models. To prevent a squirrel from getting to a hanging bird feeder, make the cord slick by coating it with vegetable oil.
  10. Quick and nimble as they are, squirrels regularly get stuck if they run into tight places too fast. To check out space constraints, even in the dark, squirrels use whiskers on their faces and their legs. These highly sensitive hairs allow the animal to feel how close the sides of a hidey-hole are and decide how close is too close.
  11. A squirrel’s diet includes a lot of nuts, berries, stems, roots, and other plant matter. However, they will eat meat and other sources of protein when under stress or as the opportunity arises. This includes bird eggs, snakes, smaller rodents, and chickens, among other things.
  12. Squirrels bulk-up to stay warm during the winter. Putting on some extra weight is one strategy squirrels use to stay warm during the cold winter months.
  13. Contrary to some popular beliefs, squirrels aren’t quiet. Squirrels talk through whistling, chirping, and clicking. They warn other squirrels about dangers. They can produce a range of vocalizations including barks, grunts, squeaks, and their familiar chatter.
  14. A squirrel’s nest is called a drey. It is about the size of a football and is built high in trees. It is made from sticks and inside has dry grass, moss, feathers, and shredded tree bark.
  15. Humans introduced squirrels to most of our major US city parks in the 1850s and 1860s. Feeding squirrels was seen as a means to encourage kindness to all animals. People thought that by adding squirrels to our parks in cities, we could bring pleasure and entertainment to the people who couldn’t leave the city and enjoy nature.

 

Favorite squirrel jokes for kids

Q: Why can’t you be friends with a squirrel?
A: They drive everyone nuts.

Q: How can you catch a squirrel?
A: Climb a tree and pretend to be a nut.

Q: Why couldn’t the squirrel solve the mystery?
A: It was one tough nut to crack.

Q: Why was the squirrel late for work?
A: Traffic was NUTS.

Q: What do you get when you cross a detective and a squirrel?
A: A nut case.

Children’s books about squirrels

Whether it’s due to their adorable nature or their abundance in nearly every backyard in the country, squirrels make for some really wiley and hilarious storybook characters. In honor of Squirrel Appreciation Day, we’ve put together a list of sixteen books about squirrels and their adventures, antics, and appetites! These squirrel books are entertaining for kids of all ages, from preschool through school-aged kids, and will not only teach them about our furry friends but entertain them along the way.

The Busy Little Squirrel by Nancy Tafuri
Scaredy Squirrel Melanie Watt
Squirrel’s Acorn by Lizbeth Stone
Bird & Squirrel on the Run by James Burks
Squirrels Leap, Squirrels Sleep by April Pulley Sayre
A Squirrel’s Story: A True Tale by Jana Bommersbach
Squirrels on Skis by J. Hamilton Ray
Those Darn Squirrels! by Adam Rubin
Nuts to You! by Lois Ehlert
Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo
Aw, Nuts! by Rob McClurkan
The Secret Life of Squirrels by Nancy Rose
One More Acorn by Don Freeman
In the Middle of Fall by Kevin Henkes
Squirrels: The Animal Answer Guide by Richard W. Thorington Jr.
Earl the Squirrel by Don Freeman

A couple of squirrely crafts

If you’re looking for a fun activity to do with your kids in honor of Squirrel Appreciation Day, here are a couple of ideas that are sure to please:

Squirrel games for kids

Is it possible to truly appreciate squirrels without playing at least one squirrel-themed game? Maybe it is, but we wanted to make sure you were properly prepared for any and all things squirrels. Obviously, that includes squirrel games too!

Sneaky Snacky Squirrel is a fun board game that is perfect for toddlers and preschoolers. The game focuses on colors, fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, taking turns, and social skills.

Squirrel Uprising: This pretend game from Sparkle Stories is best with groups of 3 or more and is sort of like Freeze Tag with a squirrel twist! 

Acorn Hide and Seek: This game is a fun pretend game that is perfect for all ages. This game is from the book Play the Forst School Way by Peter Houghton and Jane Worroll. Here is how you play.

    1. You and your child pretend to be squirrels, so get into character.
    2. Collect acorns (any easy to find nature object will do)
    3. Each person finds a special place to hide their acorns. Make sure no one sees where they hide them. Squirrels are sneaky and want to keep their hiding places a secret.
    4. Don’t forget to remember details about your hiding place. Is it by a mossy tree? Is it near a creek? Are there rocks or pine needles all over the ground?
    5. Once the acorns are safely hidden, go for a walk, play on a playground, or enjoy a snack away and out of sight from the hiding places. The point is to distract your children for a bit, so they are not focused on where they hid their acorns. (For younger kids, make sure the distraction time is short.)
    6. Go back and see if you can find your acorn hiding spot!
    7. Optional end of game discussion: talk with your kids about how it felt to be a squirrel. Ask what skills they think squirrels need to survive. You can also talk about why they chose their hiding spot and if it was hard or easy to remember where they hid their acorns. 

Additional game ideas: Instead of looking for your own acorn stash, switch it up and see if you can find each other’s hiding spots. If this is too hard, you have younger kids, or your kids get frustrated you can add in ‘hot and cold’ clues to help each other find your hiding spot.

Sneaky snacky squirrel

What would a squirrel celebration be without a few “nutty” snacks to go along with it. Here a few of our favorite treats for all your little squirrels.

Celebrate wisely

We’re lucky to have these clever, charismatic creatures living among us, but like most wild animals, the best way to appreciate squirrels is to watch them from a distance. Squirrels may look sweet and cuddly, but children (and adults) should not interact with them (they bite!). In addition, feeding wildlife is generally a bad idea, since it portrays people as a food source and could discourage natural foraging.

How do you plan on celebrating Squirrel Appreciation Day?

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