Grey Squirrel
Featured in: Year 1: Seasonal changes
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Grey Squirrel
Mammal
You often see these furry-tailed animals in parks and woods, especially in autumn.
Seasonal Behaviour:
In autumn, squirrels are busy 'caching'. This means they bury hundreds of nuts and acorns all over the place. They do this to save food for the winter when the trees are bare.
💡 Fun Facts
- Grey squirrels have a great memory, but they don't remember where they buried every single nut. The nuts they forget often grow into new oak trees!
- A squirrel's twitchy tail isn't just for show; it helps them to balance when they leap between trees.
- Their front teeth never stop growing, which is useful because they spend so much time chewing on hard nuts.
Name Story
Sciurus carolinensis
means “the shadow-tail of Carolina”
What does its name mean?
- Sciurus — shadow-tailGreek (skia, 'shadow/shade' + oura, 'tail')
- carolinensis — of Carolina (in the USA, its true home)Latin
The everyday squirrel hides a poetic name — "shadow-tail" — and people once liked to imagine it sheltering in the shade of its own great plumed tail, held up like a parasol. (It comes from America and is a newcomer to Britain.)