Tree Squirrel Negative Footprint

Description

Tree Squirrel Negative Footprint measures 3 inches. Tree Squirrel Negative footprint is high quality making it perfect for creative cookies or educational art projects.

Squirrel tracks are relatively small at about two inches in length and although their prints are around the same size as those left by rabbits, squirrels have front paws with four narrow toes tipped with tiny claws. A squirrel’s larger rear paws also feature five distinct toes with a large heel pad.

All their digits have rather sharp claws to make grasping branches and bark much easier when climbing trees. Tree squirrels are able to descend a tree head-first by rotating their ankles 180 degrees so the hind paws are pointing backwards, allowing them to better grip the tree bark.

Tree squirrels are the members of the squirrel family (Sciuridae) commonly just referred to as “squirrels”.

They do not form a single natural, or monophyletic, group; they are variously related to others in the squirrel family, including ground squirrels, flying squirrels, marmots, and chipmunks.

The defining characteristic used to determine which species of Sciuridae are tree squirrels is dependent on their habitat rather than their physiology.

Tree squirrels live mostly among trees, as opposed to those that live in burrows in the ground or among rocks. Squirrels are generally inquisitive and persistent animals. In residential neighborhoods, they are notorious for tenaciously trying to circumvent obstacles in order to eat from bird feeders.

Although they are expert climbers, and primarily arboreal, some species of squirrels also thrive in urban environments, where they have adapted to humans.

Their characteristic gnawing trait also aids in maintaining sharp teeth, and because their teeth grow continuously, prevents their over-growth.

Tree squirrels may bury food in the ground for later retrieval. Squirrels use their keen sense of smell to search for buried food, but can dig numerous holes in the process. This may become an annoyance to gardeners with strict landscape requirements, especially when the garden contains edibles.

In many areas of the US, squirrels are still hunted for food, as they were historically. Recipes calling for squirrel even appear in cookbooks, including James Beard’s American Cookery and pre-1997 copies of The Joy of Cooking.

Squirrel meat can be substituted for rabbit or chicken in many recipes and was an ingredient in the original recipe for Brunswick stew, a popular dish in various parts of the Southern US. Other similar stews were also based on squirrel meat, including burgoo and Southern Illinois chowder.

Although squirrel meat is low in fat content, unlike most game meat it has been found by the American Heart Association to be high in cholesterol. Squirrels Unlimited host a World Championship Squirrel cook-off each year in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Eastern Gray Squirrel Facts:

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Sciuridae
Genus: Sciurus
Subgenus: Sciurus
Species: S. carolinensis
Binomial name: Sciurus carolinensis
Conservation status: Least concern

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